Introduction

This is a handbook of Tunisian Arabic (TA), the spoken language in

Tunisia [tu:nes]. It is a spoken dialect of Classical Arabic or vernacular
called Derja or Tu:nsi. This book is intended to help visitors to Tunisia
enjoy Tunisian culture more authentically. It may also be valuable to
people who wish to communicate in Tunsi with Tunisians worldwide.
Finally and simply, it is a funny and instructive book to people who love
foreign languages…and who are always keen to learn new languages!
After reading this book, say within two hours, you will be able to speak
and communicate in Tunisian Arabic!
In the last part of the book you will find some beautiful images from
Tunisia (places, food…) that illustrate some of the linguistic content, in
addition to a selection of the most common Tunisian proverbs that are
included to increase the cultural content of this language course.
Let’s start right away with this conversation between Sunya, a Tunisian
student, and Jack who is an American journalist. They are talking in the
plane taking them to Tunis Carthage airport.

1. Meeting people & Greetings

1.1 Dialogue: meeting of Mike and Sonia

Sonia: asla:ma ► hello

Mike: asla:ma šnuwa [shnuwa] aħwa:lik? ► how are you?

Sonia: laba:s y’ayšik ► fine thank you
Jack: a:na ismi: Mike, w-inti, a:š ismik? ► my name is
Jack, and you, what ‘s your name?
Sonia: ismi: sonia ► my name is Sonia
Jack: inti: fransa:wiya? ► are you French?
Sonia: la: a:na tu:nsiya ► no, I’m Tunisian
Mike: nitšarrif. a:na amarika:ni, min New York ► nice
to meet you. I am American, from New York
Sonia: nitšarrif. marħba: bi:k fi: tu:nes ! ► nice to meet
you. Welcome to Tunisia !


the map of Tunisia - il-kharita mta' tunes

1.2 Common greetings and salutations

- sala:m/as-sala:m: short form of ‘’as-sala:mu 3alaykom’’
(means: peace!)
- as-sala:mu 3alaykom: literally ‘‘peace be upon you’’. A
‘borrowing’ from Classical Arabic. This form of salutation has a
religious register. More adequately said when someone salutes a
group of people.
- sba:ħ il-xi:r = good morning
- t-isbaħ 3la: xi:r = good night
- 3asla:ma = hello
- bissla:ma = good bye
- ahla:/ ahlan = (hello) welcome
 - ahlan wa sahlan = welcome (emphatic)
- marħba: = welcome
- marħba: bi:k (literally: welcome to you) = you are welcome
- shnuwa aħwa:lik? = how are you? how are you doing?
- ħamdu:lla (laba:s) = thanks to God (I am ok)- a reply to
question ‘’shnuwwa aħwa:lik?’’
- sava? = informal greeting of French origin. Means: are you
allright? Are you ok?
- sava = informal answer to the former question. Means: I’m ok, I
‘m allright.

2. Phonetic symbols/ Pronunciation chart:

2.1 Consonants

Arabic
consonant description
‫ب‬ Voiced bilabial
stop
‫ ت‬ Voiceless dento-alveolar stop

‫ث‬ Voiceless interdental fricative

‫ ج‬ Voiced post-alveolar fricative

‫ح‬ Devoiced pharyngeal fricative

‫ خ‬ Voiceless alveo-palatal fricative

‫د‬ Voiced dento-alveolar stop

‫ذ‬ Voiced interdental fricative

 ‫ ر‬ Voiced alveo-palatal trill

‫ ز‬ Voiced alveolar fricative

‫س‬ Voiceless alveolar fricative

‫ ش‬ Voiceless alveo-palatal fricative

‫ ص‬ Voiceless velarised alveolar fricative

‫ ض‬ Voiced velarised dento-alveolar stop

‫ ط‬ Voiceless velarised dento-alveolar stop

‫ع‬ Voiced pharyngeal fricative

‫غ‬ Voiced uvular fricative

‫ف‬ Voiceless labio-dental fricative

‫ق‬ Voiceless uvular stop

‫ك‬ Voiceless velar stop

‫ل‬ Voiced alveolar lateral

‫ م‬ Voiced bilabial nasal

‫ن‬ Voiced alveolar nasal

‫ھـ‬ Voiceless glottal fricative
‫ و‬ Voiced labiovelar glide
‫ ي‬ Voiced palatal glide
‫ق‬ voiced velar stop
2.2 Vowels
a Front short as in car dar (house)
open
o back short pot ħot (put) kol

open (all)
e Front short cell klem (talk)
close
u back short put talifun
close (phone)

 dur (turn)
i front short pin kujina
close (kitchen)
a : front long bar dya:r
open (houses)
o : back long ball paspo :r
open (passport)
e : front long fell me: (water) 3. Classroom
open je: (came) Vocabulary
3.1
u : back long snooker, qattu :sa (cat)
Notes on
close shoot fu:l (beans)
the
i : front long feel, kbi:r (big) definite
open beat bi:t (room) article:

There are two forms of the definite article in TA: the first is to add (il) at
the beginning of the noun.
Kta:b (a book) / il-kta:b (the book)
korra:sa (a copybook) / il-korra:sa (the copybook)
qism (a classroom) / il-qism (the classroom)
uste:th (a teacher) / il-uste:th (the teacher)
paspo:r (passport) / il-paspo:r (the passport)
The second form of the definite article is obtained by adding an (i) and
doubling the initial sound of the noun:
dars (a lesson) / id-dars (the lesson)
sokkor (sugar) / is-sokkor.
ra:jil (a man) / ir-rajel (the man)
Noun Tunisian T.A T.A plural Ta:wla
English Arabic definite (sing.) (a
table) /
indefinite iT-
book kta:b il-kta:b ktub
door ba:b il-ba:b biba :n
copybook korrasa il-korrasa korrasa :t
passport Passpo:r il-passpo:r passpora :t
 house da:r id-da:r dia :r
car karhba il-karhba Kra :heb
pen sti:lu is-stilu: stilua :t
suitcase fali:ja il-fali :ja falija :t
man rajel ir-rajel rja :l
woman mra: il-mra: nsa:
(irregular)
boy wlad il-wlad ula:d
Ta:wla (the table)
na:s (people) / in-na:s (people)

3.2 The imperative:
Inti: ► iktib / you (sing.) write
Intu:ma ► iktbu: / you (pl.) write
inti ► imshi: / you (sing) walk-go
 intu:ma ► imshi:w / you (pl.) walk-go

3.2.1 Act the following instructions:

imshi: l-il-ba:b
imshi: l-is-shubba:k
ħill il-ba:b
ħill ish-shubba:k
i:ja: l-hu:ni:
a:qif
arja3 li-bla:stik

3.2.2 Make the above instructions into the plural pronoun
[intu:ma]
intu:ma…………………………..

3.3 Classroom vocabulary and phrases:

aqra: = read (imperative 2nd person singular), aqra:w = read (plural)
iktib = write, iktbu: (pl.)
ħil il-kta:b = open the book / ħil il-karra:sa = open the copybook
3a:wid / 3a:du: = repeat
sakkir il-kta:b / sakkir il-karra:sa = close the book / close the copybook
isil sua:l / sua:la:t = ask a question / questions // Ja:wib = answer
dars / dru:s = lesson / lessons
tamri:n / tama:ri:n = task (exercise, activity)
jumla / jumal = sentence
kilma: / kilma:t = word
ma3na: = meaning (of a word, a sentence)

3.4 Some clarification expressions and commands:

shnuwa ha:tha? = what is this?
ki:fa:sh tqu :l ________ b-il3arbi ? = how to say ________ in Arabic ?
a:sh ma3na:ha ________ ? = what does ________ mean ?
3a:wid = repeat
 3a:wid b-ishwa:ya = repeat slowly
a:sh qult = what did you say ?
sa:maħni: ma: sma3tiksh = excuse me, I didn’t hear you
sa:maħni: ma: fhimtish = excuse me (sorry), I didn’t understand
shnuwa? = what?
3allim-ni il-3arabiya = teach me Arabic
tfa ððal udxul = come in please
tfa ððal oxroj = get out please
uq3ud (sing.) uq3du: (pl.) = sit down


4. Meeting people & introducing oneself:
4.1 Read this dialogue in English then in TA (you may replace the TA
consonant sound [ 3] with [a:]

English T.A
Sami : hello.
Sami : 3asle:ma.
Leila : hello.
Leila : 3assle:ma.
Sami : how are you ?
As you have
Sami : šnuwa aħwe:lik ?
just read, Leila
Leila : fine, thanks. And you ?
asks back: and
Leila : labe :s, y3ayšik. Winti ?
you? [winti?].
Sami : fine.
Although the
Sami : labe:s. ħamdullah.
TA parallel
appears in one word, it is in fact two words, exactly like the English
version : ‘and’ is [w], ‘you’ is [inti]. Since the particle ‘w’ is very short, it
is assimilated by the personal pronoun, so we have ‘w-inti ?’ (and you ?).
Most of these greetings are traditional and idiomatic, then it makes little
sense to translate them literally or word by word :
3asle:ma ( can be transcribed as [‘asla:ma]) is the short form of
the original sentence : ‘’ ħamdullah 3le: assale:ma’’, which
literally means : ‘’thank God for your safety’’. ‘’assale:ma’’ is
safety in Classical Arabic.
 šnuwa aħwe:lik? literally means : ‘‘what (are) your
conditions ?’’ .
laba:s literally means ‘’no evil’’ and actually means ‘’not bad’’,
‘’fine’’.
y3ayšik is literally ‘’long life to you’’. It is actually one of many
ways of saying : ‘’thank you’’.
ħamdulla is currently used in greetings. It is the result of the
contraction of two words ‘al-hamd’ and ‘Allah’ and literally
means ‘’praise/ thanks to Allah’’.





4.2 Other forms of greetings and salutations:

as-sala:mu 3alaykom: literally ‘‘peace be upon you’’. A
‘borrowing’ from Classical Arabic. This form of salutation has
a religious register. More adequately said when someone salutes
a group of people.
sala:m / as-sala:m = short form of ‘’as-sala:mu 3alaykom’’
(means: peace!)
sba:ħ ilxi:r = good morning
tisbaħ 3la: xi:r = good night
3asla:ma = hello
bissla:ma = good bye
ahla:/ ahlan = (hello) welcome
marħba: = welcome
marħba: bi:k (literally: welcome to you) = you are welcome
allah y3i:nik = God helps you (may God help/sustain you)
allah yhanni:k = God conforts you

4.3 introducing oneself / ittaqdi:m
In pairs, read this dialogue:
 Sami: sba : ħ ilxi:r
Mike: sba : ħ ilxi:r
Sami: a:na: ismi: sa:mi, w-inti š-i:smik?
Mike: ismi: ma:yk
Sami: ma:ykel?
Mike: la: …ma:yk
Sami: inti: fransa:wi?
Mike: la:, a:na: ama:rika:ni:
Sami: marħba: bi:k
Mike: w-bi:k, y3ayšik

 Notes: - sba : ħ ilxi:r literally means (morning of the
good)
- marħba: bi:k literally means (welcome to you). w-bi:k,
y3ayšik: (and to you, long life to you)
- w-bi:k, y3ayšik is an alternative answer to nitšarrif (lit : I
am honored ), glad to meet you.
- a:na: amarika:ni (I am American)
can alternatively be said : a:na: min amari:ka: (I’m
from America)
using the preposition min (from).
You may ask about your interlocutor’s
origin/nationality in more general terms:
inti: mni:n?
you from where?
where are you from?
mni:n (from where/ where from) is in fact a contraction of
two question words “min” (from) and “wi:n” (where).
mni:n is also used in other phrases, asking for ‘’where
from’’, like ‘’where do you buy fish from?’’:
mni:n tishri il-ħu:t? (literally: where from you buy
fish?) – Where do you buy fish from?
n-ishri il-ħu:t min il-marshi. (I buy fish from the
market)
mni:n t-ishri il-xothra? (Lit: where do you buy
 vegetables from?)
nishri il-xothra min 3and il-xatha:r (I but vegetables
from the ‘’vegetables seller’’)
You certainly noticed the use of expression min 3and. It is composed
of two prepositions (min)+ (3and). It means ‘from ‘ someone (a
person, a seller…)
mni:n xthi:t il-flu:ss? (from who(m) did you take the money?)
xthi:t il-flu:ss min 3and omm-i (Lit: from mother-my) (from my
mother)

4.4 Communicative skills Activity: Complete the dialogue

3asla:ma (‘asla:ma)
………………………………
šnuwa ħwa:lik?
…………………………………
ismi: ……………….....w-inti…………………?
ismi:………………………..
inti: tu:nsi:?
………………………………
nitšarrif


4.5 Introduce yourself
4.5.1 This is Sami introducing himself:

salam. ismi: sa:mi
a:na: tu:nsi:
a:na: min su:sa
3omri xamsa w 3ishri:n sna:
a:na: n-ixdim mutarjem
- Hello, my name is Sami
- I am Tunisian
 - I am from Sousse
- I am twenty five years old
- I work as a translator
This is Leila introducing himself:
3asla:ma, ismi: layla
a:na tu:nseya
a:na min il-9ayrawa:n
3omri tsa3ta:sh sna:
a:na: Talba: (or use french ‘’étudiante’’)

- Hello, my name is Leila
- I am Tunisian
- I am from Kairouan
- My age is nineteen
- I am a student ((or use french ‘’étudiante’’)

Notes: French is the second language in Tunisia, therefore
people often use borrowed French vocabulary. This more
common with Tunisians with a certain level of education.
‘’étudiant/étudiante’’ is more naturally used than ‘’Ta:leb/
Ta:liba).
for assimilation reasons: to make words easy and smooth to
pronounce, (min) changes into (mil), before nouns of towns that
originally start with the definite article (il-), like il-gasri:n, il-
9ayrawa:n. So the phrase is originally (a:na min il-gasri:n/ I am
from Kasserine) is pronounced (a:na m-il-gasri:n).
4.5.2 Activity: Introduce yourself by filling in the gaps:
ismi: ………………………….
a:na: …………………………..
a:na: min ……………………
3omri …………………………
4.7 More countries and nationalities:
 country nationality feminine plural
ama:ri:ka - ama:rika:ni ama:rika:neya ama:rika:n
America
fra:nsa - France fransa:wi fransa:weya fransi:s
anglitirra - angli:zi angli:zeya angli:z
England
alma:nia - alma:ni alma:neya alma:n
Germany
tu:nes - Tunisia tu:nsi tu:nseya twe:nsa
ilmaghrib - maghrbi: maghrbeya mgha:rba
Morocco
li:bya - Libya li:bi li:biya li:biya

4.8 Answer the questions by filling in the blanks:
shnuwa ismik? (a:sh ismik?)
ismi: ………………………………..
mni:n inti?
a:na: min ………………………..
inti: fransa:wi / fransa:weya?
la:, a:na: ……………………………..
qadda:sh ba:sh t-oq3od fi: tu:nis?
How long will you stay in Tunisia?
ba:sh n-o93od …………………………
wi:n toskon?
noskon fi: ………………………….wi:n tixdim?
………………………………….


5. The demonstrative:
5.1 Objects within a close distance: (Note: [ð] symbol is the
 same as [th])
I. masculine: ha:ða:
II. feminine: ha:ði:
III. plural: ha:ðu:ma / ha :ðum
i. Q. šnu:wa ha:tha:? (what’s this?)
A. ha:tha: kta:b (this is a book)
ii. šnu:wa ha:thi:? (what’s this?)
ha:thi:ka: korra:sa: (this is a copybook/ notebook)
iii. šnu:wa ha:thum (ha:ðu:ma) ?
ha:thum ktub

5.2 Objects within a far distance:
I. masculine: ha:ða:ka (ha:tha:ka)
II. feminine: ha:ði:ka
III. plural : ha:ðu:kom
i. šnu:wa ha:ða:ka ? - ha:ða:ka sti:lu (that’s a pen)
ii. šnu:wa ha:ði:ka ? - ha:ði:ka Ta:wla (that’s a table)
iii. šnu:wa ha:ðu:kom ? - ha:ðu:kom aqsa:m (those
are classrooms)

6. Questions: interrogative phrases and question words:

You have just come accross [šnuwa] in a question. It is an interrogative
pronoun in T.A like ‘’wh- words’’ in English, used in ‘’wh- questions’’,
such as ‘’what’’, ‘’who’’, ‘’where’’, ‘’when’’, ‘’why’’.
‘’šnuwa’’ means ‘’what’’ and is used in questions. However, it is
variable as whether is used with a masculine or feminine object. So for
feminine, we use šniya. The following are some examples of Tunisian
wh- questions with their answers. Notice that the equivalent of the
copula ‘is’ (infinitive present tense of ‘’to be’’ is absent (not apparent on
surface phrase structure) in T.A :

 šnuwa? (shnuwa) ► what?
šnuwa heða ? - heða kta:b
 what this ? - this book
what is this ? - this is a book

Actually, šnuwa is a short form of a:š-nuwa. a:š is the basic
interrogative pronoun, like what in English. (-nuwa) can be considered
as an affix meaning: thing in singular masculine.
Therefore, a: š (nuwa) is changed into (a: š) niya, to refer to a feminine
object.
(f) šniya heði ? -heði toffa: ħa
what this ? - this apple
what is this ? - this is an apple)

 šku:n ? ► who?
we find a:š with other affixes, that mean something different, like in:
a:š-ku:n (who?). ku:n would refer to a person, not to an object as
previously:

šku :n heða ? - heða Sa:ħb-I
(masculine)
who this ? - this friend-my
who is this ? - this is my friend

šku :n (i) heði ? - heði Sa:ħeb-t-I (feminine)
who this ? - this friend-(f)-my
who is this ? - this is my friend

Notice that šku:n and šku:ni are in free variation, that is they may be
used interchangeably with feminine objects: you may say šku:n (i)
heði ? , which is still correct in TA.
Since a:š is a question word, in the manner wh- words in English are,
we would normally find it in other question structures. This is the case
indeed, as in the following questions:

 a:š ? ► what ?
Sunya: a:š ismik?
 what name-your
what is your name?
Sunya: a:š t-ixdim?
what (you)-work?
what do you do? What is your job?
(a:š t-a3mil?
what (you)-do?
what are you doing?
John: (a:na) n-ixdim saħa:fi
(I) I-work journalist
I am a journalist

As you have noticed, a:š is used here with verbs, to form a question,
and is written separately.
Some more interrogative expressions with a:š :
a:š qult? What did you say?
a:š t-a3mil? What are you doing? (fa:š ta3mil : is also used)

 wi:n ? ► where?

verb oskon = live
wi:n is a question word used to ask about places:
wi:n t-oskon?
where you-live?
where do you live?
noskon fi: su:sa
I live in Sousse
fi:n is similar and also used with the same function: fi:n
toskon? (where do you live?

 qadda:sh? / b-qadda:sh? ► how many?
(number, quantity) how much? (price)

qadde:š (qadde:sh) is a relative pronoun/conjunct used to ask about the
number of something, the parallel of (how many ):
qadde:š ktub?
how many books?
 qadde:sh Talaba heðu:kom?
how many students are those?

b-qadde:š is added in the beginning to ask about the price of something.
Originally it is the preposition (bi / with) changes to (b-) for smoothness of
pronunciation (assimilation)
- b- qadde:š il-kta:b?
- with how much the book?
- how much is the book?
The answer is usually by also adding [b-] to the numerucal indicating the
price:
Q: b- qadde:š il-kta:b?
A: b-athna:sh dina:r

 kifa:š ► how? / how to? (Romanized
transcription: kifa:sh)
Note on the definite article: [li:] is a preposition
meanining (to). When followed by a definite noun, which
starts with the definite aricle [il], the long vowel [i:] in the
preposition is dropped, for smoothness of pronunciation
(assimilation), since followed by the (i) of the definite
article. Therefore [nimshi li: il-marshi] (I go to the market)
is pronounced [nimshi l-il-marshi]

Kifa:š nimši li: il-marši?
How can I go to the market?
Kifa:š nqu:l ‘ticket’ b-il-3arbi?
How I say ‘ticket’ in arabic
Kifa:š nqu:l ‘bisla:ma’ b-il-fronse:?
How I say ‘good bye’ in French?
Kifa:š nit3allim il-3arbi?
how I learn Arabic ?
how can I learn Arabic?

m3a shku:n? with who(m)?
 m3a: shku:n toskon? with whom do you live?
m3a shku:n ba:sh timshi l-fra:nsa?
with whom will you go to France?
min 3and shku:n? from whom?
min 3and shku:n ja:k jwa:b? from whom did you
receive a letter?
min 3and shku:n xthi:t il-fluss? From whom did take
the money?
li shku:n? (for) to whom
li-shku:n tiktib jwa:b? l-samira
to whom are you writing a letter?
to samira
li shku:n a3ti:t il-fali:ja?
to whom did you give the valise?

7. Personal Pronouns

7.1 Read this dialogue:

sunya: sba:ħ elxi:r
john: sba:ħ elxi:r. šnuwa aħwa:lik ?
sunya : laba:s y3ayšik
john : a:na ismi john w-inti šismik ?
sunya: ismi: sunya
john: inti fransawiya
sunya: la: a:na tu:nsiya
john : nitšarrif. a:na a:ma:rika:ni
sunya : nitšarrif

sunya: good morning
john: good morning. How are you ?
sunya : fine, thanks.
john : My name is John, and you, what’s your name?
sunya: My name is Sunya
john: Are you French ?
 Sunya: No, I’m Tunisian.
john : Glad to meet you. I’m American.
Sunya : Glad to meet you.


7.2 Table of personal pronouns

Tunisian English
Arabic
a:na: I
inti: You
huwwa He
hiyya She
a ħna We
intu:ma You
hu:ma They


Notes: Subject pronouns in Tunisian Arabic are not used as freely as in
English. Since T.A is an inflectional language, the verb in T.A indicates
the subject (the doer) as in : ‘’nitšarrif‘’
(I am honored). The ‘n’ attached at the beginning indicates the subject
‘a:na’. There is no need to say : ‘’a:na: nitšarrif’’. This would be simply
repeating the subject.
When subject pronouns are used with the verb, it is to convey

emphasis : ‘’inti: tħib timši:?’’ – is it is you that wants to go ?’’ .
- To say for example I am a boy = a:na wlad! (a:na = I, wlad = boy) as
you may have noticed “am” (to be) and “a” (indefinite article) are omitted in
Tunisian Arabic, so it’s like saying “I boy”, same thing with all other subject
pronouns. He is a boy = Howa wlad (he boy), we’re boys = Nahna: awla:d
(we boys),
Now let’s see the sentence said by Sonia : ‘’a:na tu:nsiya’’ (I am
Tunisian), used with other subject pronouns :

a:na: tu:nsi:
a:na: tu:nsiya:
 inti: (masculine) tu:nsi:
inti: (feminine) tu:nsiya
huwwa tu:nsi
hiyya: tu:nsiya
ahna: twe:nsa:
intu:ma: twe:nsa:
hu:ma: twe:nsa:

7.4 Activity: replace the subject with the corresponding
subject pronoun:
 sonia tu:nsiya = hiya tu:nsiya

sami tu:nsi = ……………..tu:nsi
sami w Ahmad twe:nsa = ……………twe :nsa
sonia w fatma twe:nsa = ……………twe :nsa
marie fransa:weyya = ……………fransa:weyya
john ama:rika:ni = ……………….amerika:ni
a:na w inti: twe:nsa = ……………..twe :nsa
leila tu:nsiya= ……………………
jack w john ame:rika:n= …………………ame:rika:n
muhammid w fawzi min jerba= ……………………min
jerba
John w Jenni sahafiyi:n = ………………….. sahafiyi:n



8. Numbers

1 wa:ħed
2 θni:n (thni:n)

3 θla:θa (thla:tha)

4 arb3a
5 xamsa
6 sitta
 7 sab3a
8 θmanya

9 tis3a

10 3ašra (3ashra- a:shra)
11 ħda: š (sh)
12 aθna:sh
13 θlotta:š (thlotta:sh)

14 arba3ta:š

15 xomsta:š (khomsta:sh)
16 sotta:š
17 sba3ta:š
18 θmonta:š

19 tsa3ta:š
20 3i šri :n  Notes: to
make a phrase with (two) we either use (zu :z) to refer to (two /
θni :n) or the dual form
zu:z ktub (two books)
ktabi:n (two books)
- from 3 to 10, we use the number followed by the plural of
the noun:
3andi xamsa ktub (I have five books)
- From 11 to 20 (and over), we use the number followed by
the noun in the singular:
3andi ħda:š kta :b ( I have eleven books)
Now practice singular and plural nouns in the table below :

9. Singular/ Plural
singular plural English translation
kta:b ktub book/books
qlam qlama:t pencil/pencils
sti:lu: sti:lu:wa:t pen/pens
ba:b bi:ba:n door/doors

qasm aqsa:m classroom/classrooms

karra:sa kra:ris notebook/notebooks
šibba :k šba :bik window/windows
Ta:wla Twa:wil table/tables
warqa awra:q paper/papers
jari:da jara:yid newspaper/newspapers
ra:jil rja:l man/men
mra: nsa: woman/women
mu3allim mu3almi:n teacher/teachers
tilmi:ð tla:mða student/students
Ta:lib Tolla:b student/students
dars dru:s lesson/lessons
farš fruša :t bed/beds
mxadda mxadda:t pillow/pillows
farašeya frareš blanket/blankets
(farašeya:t)
uti:l witla hotel/hotels
sa:ħeb suħa:b friend/friends





10. Masculine to Feminine in Tunisian Arabic:
In this section we will learn how to deal with Tunisian Arabic nouns,
especially how to form the feminine from the masculine, then how to
form the plural from a singular, once you learn how to do it, you will
also be able to form them and vice versa easily.
To form a feminine word from the masculine in TA, you simply add
[a] or [ya], when the noun ends in a long vowel. This is done usually
for animals, humans and professions, for example:
Kalb (dog, masculine) ► kalba (dog, feminine)
tefl (child) ► tefla (f)
qattu:s (cat) ► qattu:sa (f)
muhandes (engineer) ► muhandsa (f)
usta:th (teacher) ► usta:tha (f)
Tbi:b (doctor) ► Tbi:ba (f)
firmli (nurse) ► firmliya (f)
saħa:fi(journalist) ► saha:fiya
mu3allim (teacher, usually refers to primary school) ►
mu3allma
It’s possible also for most adjectives:
Sa: ħib (friend / masculine)
Sa: ħba (feminine)
ħzi :n (sad / mas.)
ħzi:na (f)
Kbi:r (big mas.)
 kbi:ra (f)
bni:n ( delicious mas.)
bni:na (f)
sxu:n (hot mas.)
sxu:na (f)
However, names of things are either feminine or masculine, unlike
people and animals, they have only ONE form:
 THINGS: Feminine
korra:sa (copybook)
mħaTTa (station)
qahwa (coffee)
Ta:wla (table)
Zanqa (alley)
Masculine:
kta:b (book)
qlam (pencil)
sti:lu: (pen)
nahj (street)
sha:ra3 (avenue)
However not all animals or humans masculines can take an [a] in their
feminine form, as there are irregular forms, for example:
Si :d (lion) labwa (lioness)
wlad (boy) bnaya (girl)
In Tunisian Arabic, words are either masculine or feminine, so
anything you may think of should take either feminine or masculine
form. You can recognize if a word is feminine or masculine by its
ending, for example: qissa (story) is feminine because as you may
have noticed it has [a] at the end of the word, similar are: shajra (tree),
jari:da (newspaper), Ku:ra (ball / football), ghorfa (room), karhba
(car) … and therefore the adjective following these feminine words
should also take the feminine form (add “a” to them). Most
Tunisian Tunisian Arabic nouns are considered masculine if no [a] is
connected to them. However like any other language there are
exceptions. The good news is that they are not many, and the general
rule is “add [a]’’ to form the feminine from a masculine word, and
omit it to form the masculine.
11. Prepositions:
fu:q on el-kta:b fu:q et-Ta:la the book is on the table
taħt under el-fali:ja taħt el-farš the valise is under the
(below) bed
fi: in noskon fi: tu:nes I live in Tunis
Sunya fi: il-mata:r Sunya is in the airport
min from išri dja:j min il- buy chicken from the
marši market
sam min a:ma:ri:ka Sam is from America
baħtha: near/close ed-da:r baħtha: il- the house is near the
to mata:r airport 
qudda:m in front of el-ħanu:t qudda:m the shop is in front of
il-uti:l the hotel
Notes:
fi: is not only also used as a locative preposition, but
has many other uses, like English (in), such as referring
to time:
qumt fi: iS-Sba:h (I woke up in the morning)
i:ja: fi: il-waqt (come on time)
maza:l famma xi:r fi: id-dinya (there is still good in
the world/ maza:l = still)
huwa yixdim fi: il-li:l (he works at night)

Important pronunciation remark: for smoothness of pronunciation and
speech naturalness, [fi:] is shortened into [f] when followed by a
definite noun. Why is that? Because as you already know, definite
nouns begin with a vowel (il-li:l), (id-da:r), repeating the (i:) sound in
the prepostion. An assimilation of the two sounds occurs in speech,
and the result is:
sami fi: id-da:r ► sami f-idda:r
fatma tixdim fi:-illi:l ► fatma tixdim f-illi:l
m3a: equivalent of with in English
karim ya9ra m3a: fatma (Karim studies with Fatma)
hiya tuskun m3a: 3a:ylit-ha (she lives with her
family)
li equivalent of (to) in English
a3ti: il-ura:q li il-buli:s (give the papers to the
policeman)
ba:sh nsa:fir li amari:ka (I will travel to America)



12. Verbs
We will use the stems of the verbs in the imperative form as the default and
simplest form of a verb in the present tense in TA: the singular second person
imperative (you), that is when you address someone in front of you with an
order, as when a teacher orders students to do something in class: read (aqra:),
write (iktib), open the book (ħil il-kta :b).
As we go along in this section, we will discover how to use verbs in different
aspects and tenses. The following is a list of verbs, with their correspondent
verbs in English, then phrases containing the verbs in addition to their English
translation:

Tunisian English Tunisian English Phrase
Verb Verb Phrase
iktib write iktib ism-ik write your name
aqra: read aqra: il-jari:da read the newspaper
a3ti: give a3ti:-ni: sti:lu: give me a pen
kallem (tkallem) speak kallem-ni speak to me

i:ja: come i:ja hna: come here
 imši: go imši: gha:di go there

sa:fer travel sa:fer li-tu:nes travel to Tunisia
ošrob drink ošrob qahwa drink a coffee
xalless pay xalless il-qahwa pay for the coffee
t3allem learn t3allem et-tu:nsi learn Tunisian
hiz lift hiz il-fali:ja lift the valise
hiz take hiz il-passpo:r take the passport
istanna wait istanna šwaya wait a little
orqod sleep orqod fi: il-farš sleep in the bed
oq3od sit oq3od fu:q el-korsi sit on the chair
tfarrej watch tfarrej fi: il-film watch the movie

Tayeb cook Tayeb il-ftu:r cook lunch 13.
zu:r visit zu:r il-matħaf visit the museum
išri : buy išri : kado : buy a present
Expressions with nħib (I want to…)
The root verb is ħib (want, like, love.) It has two uses.
13.1 A general use: to say that you generally like or love
something, as in (I like/love music)
n-ħib il musi:qa
I love music
ma: n-ħib-iš il-ku:ra
I don’t like football.
Notice that in Tunisian Arabic, the subject pronoun can be dropped
(optiona)in the beginning in the sentence (unless for emphasis). So
you can say ‘’n-ħib il-musi:qa’’, instead of ‘’a:na: n-ħib il mu:si:qa’’.
In fact, as you have noticed, the subject pronoun is present with the
inflectional prefix ‘’n’’ (stands for a:na / I) attached to the verb
‘’ħib’’. Of course, every subject pronoun displays a different
inflectional form attached to the verb beginning. In addition, plural
subject pronouns have inflection (u) at the end of verb, as in the table:
Subject Pronoun Verb with Subject Object (different
(optional) Pronoun affix(es) examples)
a:na: nħib il-mu:ta:l3a
(reading)
inti: tħib es-sfar (travel)
 huwwa yħib il-ku:ra
hiya tħib iT-Taswi:r
(photography
or drawing)
(n)aħna nħib-u iT-Tabi:3a (nature)
intu:ma tħib-u il-masraħ (theatre)
hu:ma yħib-u is-sinema (cinema,
movies)
13.2 n- ħ ib + verb (I want to + verb)
This is the second use of n-ħib. As in English, it is a verb followed
by another phrase containing another verb:
n-ħib n-imshi lil-masraħ (I want to go to the theatre)
n-ħib na:kol ħu:t fi: el-a3she: (I want to eat fish at dinner)
n-ħib n-it3allem il-i:ta:leya (I want to learn Italian)
n-ħib n-zu:r jerba (I want to visit Djerba)
13.2 n-ħib + Noun + barsha (intensifier/adverb: very much, a lot)
barsha is a widely employed adverb/intensifier in TA. With verbs It is
the equivalent of ‘’very much’’, and ‘’a lot’’. Read the following
examples:
(a:na) nħib il-mu:si:qa barsha
I love music very much)
iT-Tltla:yin yħibu: il-pi:ztza barsha
Italians love/like pizza very much
iT-Tla:yin ya:klu: il-pi:tza barsha
Italians eat pizza a lot

Answer the questions using (3and) in the affirmative or negative:
- (inti) 3andik karhba?
- ey ………………………
- la: ……………………...
- 3andik marsada:s? (do you have a
 Mercedes?)
- 3andik flu:s?
- Qadda:sh 3andik flu:s?
…………………….
- 3andik da:r?
-
14. To Have (3and)
The basic, neutral form of this important verb is (3and)
(to have). Of course, when used with subjects, it
changes to diplay the prosodic features of the subject.
For example with the subject pronoun a:na (I), we add
the suffix (i), that refers to the subject pronoun (a:na),
to become (3andi):
- I have (got) three children
- 3and-i θle:θa wla:d
Question : qadde:š 3andik awla:d ?

how many have-you children ?

how many children do you have ?
Answer : 3and-i θle:θa awla:d.
have-I three children
I have three children
Question : qadde:š 3and-ik flu:ss ?

how much have-you money?

how much money do you have?
Answer : 3andi 3išri:n dina:r
have-I twenty Dinars
I have twenty Dinars

Subject 3and Affirmative 3and Negative
Pronoun Form Form
a:na: 3andi: ma: 3andi:sh
inti: 3andik ma: 3andiksh
huwwa 3andu: ma: 3andu:sh
hiyya 3andha: ma: 3andha:sh
 (n)aħna: 3andna: ma: 3andna:sh
intu:ma 3andkum ma:
3andkumsh
hu:ma 3andhum ma:
3andhumsh





15. Object Pronouns:

Object pronouns are used to refer to objects mentioned before and
thus help the speaker avoid
repetitions. Object pronouns are directly linked to some verbs called
transitive or to some prepositions that occur after verbs called
intransitive. Example:
Q: wi:n sami?
A: shuftu: f-ilqahwa
Where is Sami?
I saw him in the café.
The [u:] placed after the verb (shuft) is the object pronoun referring to
Sami.
Object pronouns have forms that vary according to the verb or
preposition they are attached to:


15.1 Verbs ending in a consonant. See this example of a sentence like
(he knows me) in English, as conjugated with the different object
pronouns.

conjugated Object
verb ending Pronoun
 in a
consonant

(huwwa) ni: (a:na) He knows
ya3rif me

ya3rf ik (inti:) He knows
you



ya3rf u: (huwwa) He knows
him

ya3rif ha: (hiyya) He knows
her 15.2
ya3rif na: (ahna:) He knows us Verbs
ya3rif kum (intu:ma:) He knows ending in
you a vowel:
ya3rif hum (hu:ma:) He knows as in
them English
(He gives
me)


Conjugated verb Object
ending in a vowel pronoun
(huwwa) ya3ti: ni: He gives me
ya3ti: k He gives you
ya3ti: h He gives
him
ya3ti: ha: He gives her

ya3ti: na: He gives us

ya3ti: kum He gives you

ya3ti: hum He gives
 them



16. Tunisian Arabic Possessive Pronouns:

Possessive pronouns or adjectives are suffixes that are attached to objects to
convey possession.
Similar to the Tunisian Arabic object pronouns, the determinative possessive
pronouns look the same, the only difference is that they end a noun and not a
verb like above. So to learn how to say “my house ” “his car” “her dress” …you
need to look at the table below:


Singular Plural
me: noun + i: we: noun + na:

you (masculine/feminine): you (plural
noun + ik masculine/feminine):
noun + kum
him: noun + u
them (plural masculine):
her: noun + ha noun + hum



In TA you have to use the possessive pronouns above as a suffix,
meaning that they should be ending the word (noun), here are some
examples:

book = Kta:b
my book = Kta:bi:
your book = kta:bik
his book = Kta:bu:
 her book = Kta:bha
our book = Kta:bna
your book (plural masculine/feminine) = Kta:bkum
their book (plural masculine/feminine) = Kta:bhum

However, the examples we have just seen are usages of the possessive pronoun
suffixes with Nouns ending with a consonant, like (kta :b). The possessive
pronoun suffixes are used differently with object Nouns ending in a long vowel,
such as ‘’korsi:’’ (chair), so the use of possessive pronoun suffixes is in this
way :
Korsi - (chair)
My chair – korsiyya:

Your chair – korsi:k

His chair – korsi:h

Her chair – korsi:ha

Our chair – korsi:na:

Their chair – korsi:hom

17.1 famma (there is / there are)

famma is a very widely used word in TA. It may be considered as a verb. It
means (threre is) or there are. In TA, it is used invariably whether it comes with
a singular, plural, masculine or feminine objects. As you have already seen, there
is no apparent (to be, is, copula) verb in Tunisian Arabic, therefore famma is
directly followed by the object.
famma kta:b fu:q eT-Ta:wla / There is a book on the table
famma wlad fi: il-qism / there is a boy in the classroom
famma bnaya fi: id-da:r / there is a girl in the house
famma awla:d fi: il-qism / there are boys in the classroom
famma bna:t fi: il-qism / there are girls in the classroom
famma flu:ss fi: es-stu:sh/ there is money in the handbag

17. 2 barsha + noun (many, a lot)
 In addition to its use with verbs, as we have seen abobe, the intensifier barsha
is used to modify nouns. It is positioned before the noun:
famma barsha ktub fu:q iT-Ta:wla
There are many books on the table

3andi: barsha flu:ss

I have much money

ma: 3andi:sh barsha flu:ss

I don’t have much money

18. The Negative form

To make the negative form in TA, you have to add both a negative particle (ma:)
and a suffix(š) to the verb.
They are (ma:) (equivalent of don’t /doesn’t…. in English!) and (š) or (sh),
which is attached to the end of verbs in the negative form
Therefore, if you want to turn the sentence (famma flu:s fi : es-stu:sh) add a
prefix (ma :) and a suffix (š) to the verb . Look at the examples (remember : in TA, subject
pronoun (a :na, huwa, hiya, hu :ma, nahna, intu :ma) are optional. Their presence is carried out through verb
inflection) :

famma flu:ss fi: es-stu:sh (there is money

in the handbag)

ma: fammaš flu:ss fi: es-stu:sh (there isn’t money in the handbag)
3andi sgha:r (I have children)

(a :na) ma: 3andi:sh sgha:r (I don’t have children)

nikallam 3arbi (I speak Arabic)

ma: nikallamš 3arbi (I don’t speak Arabic)

Sunya tikallam angli:zi (Sunya speaks
English)
Sunya ma: tikallamš il-angli:ziya (Sunya doesn’t speak English)
(hu:ma) yikallmu: il-angli:ziya (they
speak English)
(hu:ma) ma: yitkallmu:š angli:zi (they don’t speak English)
nhib il-kosksi (I like couscous)

ma: nhibbish il kosksi (I don’t like

couscous)
mshi :t li : il-marshi (I went to the
 market)
ma: mshi:tsh li: il-marshi (I didn’t go to

the market)

Subject negative S. Pronoun Verb S. Pronoun negative
Pronoun prefix inflection Stem inflection suffix
prefix [iktib] suffix
(write)



a :na : ma: n iktib sh
inti: ma: t iktib sh
huwwa: ma: y iktib sh
hiyya: ma: t iktib sh
a ħna: ma: n iktb u: sh
intu:ma: ma: t iktb u: sh
hu:ma: ma: y iktb u: sh




19. Adjectives:
19.1 This is a list of common adjectives
Tunisian Arabic English TA TA plural
adjective feminine
qri :b near qri :ba qra :b
b3i:d far b3i:da b3a :d
Twi :l tall Twi:la Twa :l
9si :r short 9si:ra 9sa :r

kbi :r big kbi:ra kba:r
sghi :r small sghi:ra sgha:r
sxu :n (skhu:n) hot sxu:na sxa :n
 m3abbi full m3abya m3ibyi:n
fa:ragh empty fa:rgha farghi:n
gha:li expensive gha:lya gha:lyi:n
rxi:ss cheap rxi:sa rxa:s
ba:hi good (nice) ba:hya ba:hyi :n
bni:n delicious bni:na bna:n
ma:laħ salty ma :lħa ma:lħi :n
ħlow (of food) sweet ħlowa ħlowi:n
ħa:r hot (spicy, of food, ħa :rra ħa :rri :n
ha:yil excellent/ ha:yla ha:yli:n
marvellous
ħlow (of things beautiful, nice ħlowa ħlowi:n
like a movie, a
song, a dress…) 19.2
mizya:n beautiful /cute maizya:na mizya:ni:n
wa:sa3 large (room…) wa:s3a wa:s3i:n
ba:red cold ba:rda ba:rdi:n
Position of Adjectives in relation to nouns:
Adjectives in TA are positioned after the noun they modify (describe),
unlike English :
Kta :b qdi :m /book old / an old book

ra:jel Twi:l / man tall / a tall man

karhba: jdi:da / car new / a new car

sha:ra3 thayye9 / street narrow / a narrow

street
In sentences and phrases, adjectives also follow the subject pronoun, like in
English. But again, TA does not have a verb ‘’to be’’ (copula, is) that shows in
sentences.
Il-bi:t wa:s3a
The-room large
The room is large
il-ftu :r bni :n
the lunch delicious
The lunch is delicious
 - use of barsha (very) with adjectives synonym is (ye :ssir): it comes after the
adjective:
il-ftu:r bni:n barsha
the-lunch delicious very
the lunch is very delicious
il-bi:t wa:s3a barsha (or ye :ssir)
the-room large very
the room is very large.
19.3 Adjective and Noun agreement :
Adjectives follow the nouns occurring before them in :
Gender: (masculine) ra:jil kbi:r / man old
(an old man)
(feminine) mra: kbi:ra / woman old (an old woman)
Number: (singular) ra:jil kbi:r / man old
(an old man)
(plural) rja:l kba:r / men old (old men)
20. Mike f-il-marshi (f-is-su:q) / Mike in the market:
After reading the book [Tunisian Arabic in 30 Lessons] and a few weeks
interacting with native speakers, Mike can speak Tunisian Arabic now well
enough!
20.1 Asking and Giving directions: Jack is asking for directions from a man
to find the market:
Jack: sala:mu 3alaykom
Il-bayye:3: sala:m
Jack: xu:ya (brother: very common
social appellation in Tunisia - with oxti ‘’sister’’)
bqadde:sh il-ki:lu: toffa:ħ ? (how much are
apples ?)
b-thle:tha (θle:θa) dina:ra:t il-ki :lu (with
three Dinars the kilo)
Jack : a3ti:ni zuz ki:lu:, min fadhlek (give me two kilos, please)
tfadhel (here you are !)
Jack: a3ti:ni za:da (also) ki:lu: felfel (green peppers) w ki:lu: baTa:Ta:…
(give me also one kilo of peppers and half a kilo of tomatoes)
zi:dni rTal Tma:tem (add to that for me half a kilo of tomatoes)
 barakallahu fi:k (shukran). bissla:ma (thank you. Good bye)

21 Reading: Mike qa:bil Sonia f-il-marshi !
► Mike met Sonia in the market !
Mike: ahla: sonia, shnuwa ahwa:lik ?
Sonia : ahla:n Mike. labe:s y3ayshik. a:sh t-a3mil hna:? (what are you
doing here?)
Mike : n-ishri fi: xodhra w lħam w ghalla. ba:sh ntayeb kosksi f-il-ftu:r !( I
am buying vegetables and meat and fruits. I will cook couscous at lunch !)
Sonia: t-a3rif it-Tayeb kosksi ? (do you know how to cook couscous ?)
Mike: ey, n-a3ref. t3allamt. tji : toftor bahthe:ya ?
Sonia: be:hi ! (ok/ good, I agree !)

22. Dialogue : Tea in Mike’s house, after lunch
ta:y fi: da:r Mike, ba3d il-ftu:r

ta:y axthar b-il-na3na:3 (green tea with mint leaves)


Il-mat ħ if – The museum
ta:y ahmar (red tea)
kosksi: (Tunisian Couscous)

Mike : 3ijbik il-kosksi sunya ? (did you like the couscous,
Sunya ?)
Sunya : ha:yel ! bni:n barsha! (excellent! it ‘s very delicious !)
(bni:n – adjective meaning delicious. barsha means very : notice
the position of adverb barsha after the adjective)
Mike : y3ayshik. tħib t-oshrob ka:s ta:y ? (thank you. Do you
want to drink a cup of tea ?)
Sunya : ey, mersi: ! (people use some borrowed French words
too !)
Mike: tħib ta:y aħmar walla axthar? (do you want red or green
tea)
(literally: you want tea red or green?/ do you want green or red
tea ?) – you know by now that adjectives in TA come after
Nouns, unlike English.
Sunya: axthar bil-na3na:3 (green tea with mint leaves.(na3na:3
are those mint leaves that are added to green tea and give it a
special taste and aroma). a:sh t-ixdim John ? (what is your job,
what do you work ?) xidma = job
 Mike: n-ixdim saha:fi fi: jari:da ismha ‘’Boston Tribune’’. n-
iktib fi: ta9ri:r 3la: tu:nes ba3d eth-thawra (revolution). Winti ?
(I am a journalist at Boston tribune. I’m writing a report about
Tunisia after the revolution)
Sunya : be:hi yessir! a:na: ‘’étudiante en médecine’’ (french
again ! Ta:lba fi: iT-Tib) waaaaaahhhhh !!!
(very good ! I am a student of medicine/ waaaahhh! = expression
of surprise, interjection)
Mike: shbi:k Sunya, maw labe:s ? (what is wrong with you
Sunya, are you ok ?)
Sunya : shnuwa hethe:ka ? famma ħa:ja kaħla titħarrek taħt eT-
Ta:wla!
(what’s that ? there is something black moving under the table !)
Mike: hahaha ma:-txa:f-ish….hatha:ka kalbi, ismu: Tarzan,
pitbull !
(don’t be afraid…that’s my dog, his name is Tarzan, it’s a
pitbull !)
Sunya : hahaha… fja3ni: ! a:na: nxa:f min il-kla:b barsha( he
startled me ! I fear from the dogs a lot !)

23. The Past Tense
Most verbs in TA belong to two groups. They change to past tense differently,
depending on which group they belong to : (______v+c)
Group 1 : verbs belonging to the first group are those ending in a
short vowel and a consonanant :
Ktib (wrote), shrab (drank), t3allim (learned). Thrab (hit)
Group 2 : verbs ending in a long vowel : (______v:)
eg. msha: (went), kla: (ate)
Notice that the stem of the verbs in the past tense is no longer the imperative
form as used with the verbs in the present tense, but is the verb conjugated with
the 3rd person masculine singular. The first (i) of the verb in the imperative is
deleted.
 23.1 Some verbs from Group 1
xraj (went out), dxal (entered, came in), rkib (mounted (for eg. took the bus),
ja :wib (answered), rqad (slept), ktib (wrote), hsib (counted), lbis (wore), l3ab
(played), sa:fer (travelled), xdim (worked), fhim (understood), fTar (ate lunch),
b3ath (sent), wSil (arrived), s-hil (asked, questioned), 3mal (did/made), sma3
(heard, listened to)
23.2 Some verbs from group 2
eg. msha: (went), kla: (ate), qra: (read), shra: (bought), ja: (came), rma: (threw),
bka: (wept, cried), wfa: (ended, finished), lqa: (found), bda: (began). Let’s see
how these verbs from the two groups are conjugated with the different Subject
pronouns :
subject Group 1 verb Group 2 verb
Pronoun Past Tense Past Tense
ktib qra:
a:na: ktibt qri:t
inti: ktibt qri:t
huwwa: ktib qra:
hiyya: kitbit qra:t
aħna: ktibna: qri:na:
intu:ma: ktibtu: qri:tu:
hu:ma: kitbu: qra:w


24. Present Progressive
and some adverbials of time:

24.1 The Present progressive: To express the present progressive in
TA, we use the adverbial [qa:3id]:
(a:na) qa:3id niktib fi: jwa:b
I am writing a letter
Il-bna:t qa:3di:n yitfarju: f-ittalfza
The girls are watching TV
Leila qa:3da iT-Tayib f-il-ftu:r
 Leila is cooking lunch

24.2 Some adverbials and expressions of time:
ilba:riħ equivalent of ‘yesterday’ in English
ilba:riħ ommi: Taybit kosksi (yesterday my mother cooked
Couscous)
ilba:riħ Sunya ja:t min fra:nsa (yesterday Sunya came from France)
ji:t min amari:ka ilba:riħ (I came from America yesterday)
qbi:la a little time ago
rawaht mil xidma qbi:la (I came back from work a little
time ago)
qbi:la kunt fi: il-marshi: (some time ago I was in the market)
tawwa ► now, at the moment
ghudwa ► tomorrow
il-jim3a il-ja:ya ► next week
mba3id ► after, in a while

25. The future
The future tense in Tunisian Arabic uses the auxiliary [ba:sh], that can
be considered as the equivalent of (will) in English.
ghudwa ba:sh n-ishri karhba jdi:da
tomorrow I will buy a new car
Mike w Sonia ba:sh y-zu:r-u: Jerba il-jim3a il ja:ya
Mike and Sonia will visit Jerba next week





26. Some illustrated vocabulary
26.1 fi: il-marshi: (in the market)


27. Reading: Mike and Sonia in Sidi Bousaid
Mike w Sonia fi: sidi bus3i:d
New vocabulary: ilba:riħ = yesterday, za:r = to visit, matħaf =
museum, awwil marra = the first time, sħan ħu:t = a dish of fish,
a:bann = the most delicious (superlative of (bni:n = delicious)), ma:kla
= food, ħya:t-i: = my life. iz-zroq (blue, plural) = azraq (sing). Note
on transcription: fi: il-qahwa (in the café) = f-il-qahwa. [w] = (and):
can be pronounced [u]
il-ba:riħ Mike w Sonia za:ru: sidi bus3i:d. he:thi: awwil marra Mike
yimshi l-sidi bus3i:d w 3ijbit-u barsha. Mike w sonia sharbu: ka:s ta:y
f-il-qahwa gha:di w tkayfu: shi:sha za:da: ! w mba3ed zaru: il-matħaf
mta3 sidi bus3i:d.
sidi bus3i:d qarya sghi:ra tib3id 3la: tu:nis xamsa: ki:lumitra:t. sidi
bus3i:d mashhu:ra b-dya:rha il-byoth w b-biba:nha w shba:bikha iz-
zroq, b-qha:wi:ha w b-mana:therha ej-jmi:la ye:sir.
fi: il-li:l, Sonia w Mike t3asha:w fi: restoro:n. Sunya Talbit bri:ka w
sla:ta w shorba. John Tlab bri:ka w sħan ħu:t w taji:n w sla:ta
mishwiya. ba3d il-3sha:, Mike qa:l : « he:tha: a:ban ma:kla kli:t-ha fi:
ħya:ti: ».

Sidi Bousaid / sidi bus3i:d


Reading English translation:
Yesterday, John ans Sunya visited Sidi Bousaid. This is the first time
that John goes to Sidi Bousaid and he liked it very much. John and
Sunya drank a tea in a café there and they smoked a sheesha too ! and
afterwards (then) they visited the museum of Sidi Bousaid.
Sidi Bousaid is a small village that is distanced from Tunis five
kilometres. It is famous by its white houses with blue doors and
windows, its cafés and its landscapes that are very beautiful. At night,
John and Sunya had dinner in a restaurant. Sunya ordered breek, a
salad and a soup. John ordered breem,a dish of fish, tajin and a grilled
salad (slata mishwiya). After dinner, John said : ‘’This is the most
delicious food I have ever eaten in my life !’’

A restaurant in Sidi Bousaid

a café in Sidi Bousaid / qahwa fi: sidi bus3i:d

John and Sunya ate breek at dinner / John w Sunya kla:w bri:k fi: il-
a3sha: (singular: bri:ka)

Sidi Bousaid museum / il- mathaf fi: sidi bus3i:d


28. Tunisian Proverbs / amthla tu:nseya
The following is a selection of Tunisian proverbs as they are said by
Tunisians and their English translation. Amthla tu:nseya (sigular:
mathal). The reader may of course deduce valuable linguistic insights
from this section.
 Notes (illi) means (he who, whomever), and is found
often in Tunisian proverbs. (ka:n) means (if, when), (itha:)
means (if, when)
ka:n il-kla:m:n fi Đa, is-ska:t ðhab
if speaking is silver is silver, silence is gold
iĐħak li id-dunya, t-iĐħak-lik (iĐħak =laugh)
smile to life, it will smile to you
ka:n sa:ħbik 3sal, ma: tilaħsu:sh lkoll
if your friend is honey, don't lick him thoroughly
Đarb il-ħabi:b ki: ma:kilt il-3nib w ħajra:tu: rumma:n
The beating from the beloved is like eating raisins and
his/her stones pomegranates
 Yit3almu: fi: il-ħja:ma fi: ru:s il-ayta:ma
They're learning hairdressing in orphans' heads !
illi mitghatti bi-mta:3 inna:s 3arya:n
He who is covered with other people's clothes is naked.
illi yba:t li:la m3a id-dja:j, yisbah yqa:qi
He who spends a night with chicken will cackle in the
morning
la: nħibbik la: nusbur 3li:k
I do not love you, but I cannot bear to be away from you
itha: sa:ħbik 3sal, ma: tilasu:sh lkoll
If your friend is honey, don't lick him thoroughly.
itha: ommik il-bsal w bu:k ithum, mni:n yji:k Tya:b er-riħ:a
ya: mshu:m?
If your mother is onion and your father is garlic, how will
you then smell good, you unlucky boy?
a:na: na3rif, winti: ta3rif, w il-qattu:sa ta3rif
I know, you know…and the cat knows!
ka:n id-dwa: morr, id-da: amarr
If the medicine is bitter, the illness is even more
aħla: 3la: 9albi mil il-3sal
It is sweeter to my heart than honey.
Ka:n ilxu: yinfa3 xu:h, ma: yibki: ħad « la : bu :h
If brother is affectionate to brother, nobody would deplore a father.













29. Vocabulary

29.1 Reading/ Speaking: Practice some T.A vocabulary, with this list of
basic words. The way they are pronounced is on the right column. The
nouns on the left 2nd column are indefinite. The 3rd column are their
definite parallels. The way they are pronounced is on the right column.
There are two forms of the definite article in TA: the first form of the
definite article is to add (il) at the beginning of the noun. Kta:b/ il-kta:b.
The second form of the definite article is obtained by adding an (i) and
doubling the initial sound of the noun. eg ‘’sokkor’’ (sugar)= is-sokkor.
"rajel" (a man)/ ir-rajel (the man)

Noun Tunisian T.A T.A plural

English Arabic definite (sing.)
indefinite
book kta:b il-kta:b ktub
door ba:b il-ba:b biba :n
copybook korrasa il-korrasa korrasa :t
passport Passpo:r il-passpo:r passpora :t
house da:r id-da:r dia :r
car karhba il-karhba Kra :heb
pen sti:lu is-stilu: stilua :t
suitcase fali:ja il-fali :ja falija :t
man rajel ir-rajel rja :l
woman mra: il-mra: nsa:
(irregular)
boy wlad il-wlad ula :d
policeman Buli:s il-buli:ss buliseya
airport maTa:r il-mata :r matara :t
taxi taksi it-taksi taksiya :t
cup Ka :s il-ka:s kisa :n
bottle dabbu:za id- dba :biz
dabbu:za
sandwitch Kaskru:t il-kaskru:t kaskruta :t
coffee qahwa il-qahwa qha:wi
tea ta :y it-ta :y uncountable
(--)
sugar sokkor is-sokkor -
-
water Ma : il-ma : -
-
lunch Ftu :r il-ftu:r ftura :t
dinner ashe : il-ashe : ashawa :t
morning sba :h is-sba :h
night li:l il-li :l
evening a3shiya il-a3shiya
rain shta: (also ish-shta:
mtar)
sun shams ish-shams
pants sirwa :l is-sirwa:l sra:wil
sweater, maryu :l il-maryu:l mra:wil
pull-over
shirt sureya is-sureya swe:ri
Jacket, vest ve:st, il-vest,
(vi :sta) (El-vi :sta)
handkechief mharma il-mharma mha :rem
shoes sabba :t is-sabba:t sba:bet
hat Tarbu :sha it- Tra:besh
 tarbu:sha
room bi:t il-bi:t byu:t
kitchen kuji :na il-kuji :na Kujina :t
Living Sala : is -sala : es-sala :t
room (salon)
restaurant restoron ir-restoron restorona :t
spoon mgharfa il-mgharfa mgha:ref
fork fargi :ta il-fagi :ta fra :get
knife sekki :na is-sekkina Ska :kin
dish s7a n is-s7an os7na :
table Ta :wla it-ta :wla Twa :wil
chair korsi il-korsi kra:si
desert dese:r id-dese :r
orange bordga:na il-
bordga:na
oranges bordga:n il-bordga:n
apple toffa:ħa it-toffa: ħa et-toffa: ħ
dates degla id-degla
lemon qa:res il-qa:res
watermelon dilla :3a id-dilla :3a
juice 3asi :r (jus) il-3asi :r
couscous kosksi il-kosksi
street ša :ri3 iš- ša :ri3 šwa :ri3
(avenue)
hotel uti :l (ote :l) il-uti :l el-witla
bar bar il-ba :r bira :n
program barna :maj il- bara :mej
(ex. of trip) barna:maj
newspaper jari :da il-jari:da jara :yed
music musi :qa il-musi:qa
 song ghna :ya il-ghna:ya ghnaya:t
(tele)phone talifu :n it-talifu:n talifune:t
money flu :s il-flu:s
meat lħam il- lħam
oil zi :t iz-zi :t
olives zitu :n iz-zitu :n
cheese jben ij-jben
bed farš il-farš fruše:t
bread xubz il- xubz
gold ðhab ið- ðhab
silver foða il-foða
photo taswira it- taswira tsa:wir







30. Reading: il-mashmum
Il-mashmu:m it-tu:nsi
The Tunisian Mashmum

The intoxicating smell of the Machmoum, made from the flower
“Fell,” and the Jasmine tree, unique to Tunisia, is the scent that
Tunisians believe, “Feeds The Feelings!”

er-ri:ħa il-mon3isha mta3 il-mashmu:m, illi ma3mu:l min nawa:r il-
fill w min shajrat il-yasmi:n, w xa:ss b-tu:nes, hiya er-ri:ha illi it-
twa:nsa ythonnu:’’ton3ish erru:ħ’’
mu :sh momkin tku :n fi : tu :nes min ghi :r ma: tra: enna:s illi
yiSn3u : il-mashmu :m. tal9a :hum barsha f- il-mudun w il-qura: !
3a:yla:t ka:mla, rja:l, nsa: w sgha :r ki:f ki:f mashghuli:n essi :f bkollu
(ka :mil) yla9tu: en-nawwa :r ba:sh ykawnu: w yasn3u: bi-bara:3a il-
msha:mim, w shrik kol waħda ajmal (aħla:) min l-o5ra:.
Il-mashmu:m yitba:3 f- ishTu:T, fi: ilqha:wi w ħatta fi : ta9a:To3 aT-
Turuqa:t, w masnu:3 xissisan l- il-3ru:sa et-tu:nsiya w il -3ru:s fi:
nha:r 3irshum.

It is impossible to be in Tunisia in the summer without spotting the Jasmine arrangers, found abundantly in
different towns and villages! Whole families, men, women and children alike are kept busy throughout the
entire summer picking the flowers to assemble and meticulously, produce Machmoums (bouquets) and
necklaces, each more beautiful than the other!
Sold on the beaches, in cafés, or even at road junctions, and produced specifically for the Tunisian bride and
groom on their wedding day.

Many of the vendors are often young boys anxious for extra pocket money and usually dressed traditionally
with a bouquet of Jasmine pinned between the top of the ear and head. They carry and exhibit their wares in
a wicker basket placed on their head or carried under their arm.

bayya3at il-mashmu:m gha:liban ma: yku:nu: awla:d sgh:ar ylawju: 3la: masru:fhum w f-il 3a:da
yku:nu: labsi:n liba:s ta9li:di. Yhizu : w ya3rdhu: sil3ithom fi: salla yhottu :ha fu:q erra :ss walla
mabi:n ydi:hum.

sħi:ħ, tu:nes bla:d jmi:la barsha !
that’s right, Tunisia is a very beautiful country !
shukran, bislama: 