Acknowledgements in Tunisian Arabic
Amongst friends, family, and when interacting with strangers providing acknowledgements at times and when credit is due is an important facet to life and can enrich your and others experience communicating with each other. Tunisian Arabic is a form of communication rich in its ability to provide acknowledgements with others. Here is a list of the more common acknowledgements and phrases of encouragement in Tunisian Arabic.
- Mabrouk! (Congratulations!)
- Sa77it! (Good job!)
- Bravo! (Well done!)
- M3alem / M3alma (You’re a boss!)
- 9adha w 9doud (You got this!)
- Jawek behi (You’re a good person)
- Jawek fes fes (You’re a good person — More hip & modern)
This word directly means “Congratulations!” It’s based on Standard Arabic’s (Fos7a / فصحى). This word, Mabrouk, has some other meanings and uses amongst Tunisian Arabic speakers:
- Mabrouk is a common last name and Mabrouka / مبروكة is a common female first name in Tunisia
- The terms (m) Wejhou mabrouk / وجهو مبروك (f) Wejha mabrouk / وجهها مبروك are spoken to describe someone whose face appears like it brings blessings and good luck.
IBL Contributor, Samar H., pronounces Mabrouk:
IBL Contributor, Samar H., pronounces Wejhou mabrouk & Wejha mabrouk:
Sa77it! (Sahyt!, Sa7it!) / صحيت! (صحّيت!) means “Well done!” or “Good job!” In the plural it’s Sa7itkom!/ !صحيتكم. It’s root word is Saha / صحة which means “health”. Another expression in Tunisian Arabic that can be used in this setting is Ya3tik el sa77a! / !يعطيك الصحة. (also covered in the IBL article, Speaking Tunisian Arabic at a restaurant, in a different context)
Directly derived from French, Bravo! / !برافو, which means “Good job!”
(As an aside, if you want to learn more about the origins of Tunisian Arabic and its influences from other forms of communication such as French and Standard Arabic, IBL has written the article, What is Tunisian Arabic?)
Other forms of this expression that have taken on more of a conventionally Arabic shape is (sing.) Bravo alik / برافو عليك (pl.) Bravo alikom / برافو عليكم. Al / عل (or Ala / على in Fos7a) is a preposition that means “on” or “upon” and -k / ك- and -kom / كم- suffixes puts the expressions in the You and You plural forms, respectively.
M3alem / معلم & M3alma / معلمة
A fun expression you can say to a friend who did well at something or to motivate them before an activity is (m) M3alem / معلم (f) M3alma / معلمة which has the effect in English of “You’re a boss!” These words are derived from Fos7a (spellings are (m) Mou3alem / معلم (f) Mou3alma / معلمة) and means “teacher”.
There is no plural form of this expression.
A similar expression to M3alem / M3alma is 9adha w 9doud / قدها و قدود which has the effect of “You got this!” This expression too can be said before an activity, or after, as an acknowledgement for a job well done. This expression, too, doesn’t have a plural form.
9adha comes from a similar series of words that means someone’s size. (E.g., If you hold up a shirt you could say to a friend, (masculine-based object) Yji 9adek / يجي قدك (feminine-based object) Tji 9adek / تجي قدك (plural) Yjiw 9adek / يجيو قدك and you’d be expressing that the shirt is their size)
9doud is thought to be related to the Tunisian Arabic words (masculine-based activity) Guedou (feminine-based activity) Guedha (the foregoing are in the imperative forms) which means someone is, “Good at something.”
Jawek behi / جوك باهي is a versatile phrase. Most commonly it can be said to another as a friendly gesture to basically mean “You are a good person!” It can also be used:
- To mean “All good” or “Okay”
- If someone apologizes for cancelling plans with a friend, the friend could respond with Jawek behi to mean that “It’s okay.”
- To acknowledge that someone is good at their job or at doing an activity.
In Tunisian Arabic, Jaw / جو means fun and Behi / باهي means okay. These two words have combined over time to have the broader meanings as noted above.
Jawek fes fes / جوك فس فس is the hip and modern way of saying Jawek behi. This term is spoken more amongst younger generations. It’s been observed in Tunisia that some in older generations who are Tunisian Arabic speakers aren’t familiar with this term. But the younger generations certainly are. If you want to acknowledge someone for being a good person, and they are a younger generation, after you say this phrase with a smile, it is common to receive a friendly, good response from the other person.
Acknowledging others and understanding when being acknowledged can create more interconnectedness (and fun!) when speaking a different language. Next, you may enjoy reading the IBL article How to greet someone in Tunisian Arabic. And if you want to get more into the technical side to constructing various statements, there is the IBL guide, How verbs function in Tunisian Arabic.
And as always, we wish you a marvellous journey!
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