To ask for time: "Qaddeeş el waqt" or "Qaddeeş waqt"

Tunisians would almost always read time analog so it's essential to learn. However it's totally normal and rather becoming common to tell time in digital: "Hour and {count} minutes".

Analog:

{Hour} + {minutes} (+ {time of the day} + {modifier})

What ever in minutes start with "w" requires telling the current hour and "ğiir" requires the next hour.

For instance, 5:20 is "El ꝁamse w arbĝe" and 5:40 is "Es sette ğiir arbĝe"

"Draj" means "5 minutes" (yes we do say "juust draj" when we want to sleep more). It derives from 'darje' that is "degree; degradation; stair". "Draaj" being the plural.

Time of the day is basically "mteeĝ es ṣbeeħ" if a.m. and "mteeĝ el ĝşíe" if 1a.m.->5/6a.m. and "mteeĝ el liil" otherwise. It really depends on sunset in that specific time

Now modifiers offer a margin of error correction by telling if we're 1 or 2 minutes until the told hour "me ħarrerş" (lit: "didn't liberate") of past the told hour "ꝁaarej" (lit: "off; beyond")

Examples:

• 2:33 or 2:34 is "masseeĝtiin w sabĝe me ħarrerş"

• 2:36 or 2:37 is "masseeĝtiin w sabĝe ꝁaarej"

Putting all of this together. Something like "9:09 p.m." would be said aloud as

• "et tesĝe w darjiin mteeĝ el liil me ħarrerş"

Digital

{Hour} w {count} dqiiqe ( + {time of the day})

Refer to the paradigm above for {Hour}. {count} would represent the minute count you see on a digital clock.

"3:26 a.m." is "Mattleeŧe w setta w ĝeşriin dqiiqe mteeĝ es ṣbeeħ"

Quick etymology note:

"Masseĝe" is a contraction of colloquial "Maḍḍi seeĝe" which comes from "Mḍaat seeĝe" (lit:"an hour passed"). By analogy "Masseeĝtiin" and "Mattleeŧe" come from "Mḍaao seeĝtiin" and "Mḍaao tleeŧe (sweeyaĝ)" respectively.

View Plural and Dual forms and Conjugation