Understanding Tunisian Money in Tunisian Arabic

In Tunisia a unit of money (the word for money is Flous / فلوس) is a Dinar / دينار. The Tunisian Dinar’s global abbreviation is TND and domestically, its abbreviation is most commonly DT or dt / د.ت.

Unlike the Dollar and Euro currency systems which have one hundred (100) fractions of a unit, known as Cents, there are one thousand (1,000) fractions of a Dinar. A fraction of a Dinar is officially titled a Milliemes / ملّيم. (French origin) If you look closely at coins that’s value are less than a Dinar, the word ملّيم (Milliemes) is imprinted on them. And when Tunisian Arabic speakers speak of a fraction of a Dinar what’s most commonly spoken is the word Franc (or Frank) / فرنك. (A word that also originates from French)

Another common way that a Dinar / دينار is described is by the word Alf / ألف  (And when pronounced it’s said like Lef / لاف—Here is a recording below and why this occurs is explained in the article here). In Tunisian Arabic, Alf / ألف means one thousand (1,000) and Alef / ألاف means one thousand in the plural form. The concept is by someone saying Lef / لاف or writing Alf / ألف they are referring to 1,000 Franc, which is 1 Dinar and if a monetary value comes before the Alf or Alef, they referring to the part of a monetary value between 1,000 and 9,999 dt. Note that the preceding Dinar range (i.e., 1,000 and 9,999 dt) uses commas based on the Tunisian system (which is similar to the Euro system and opposite from the Dollar system in North America)—How this works is explained in the this section and the rules for when to use Alf versus Alef in a monetary value are explained in this subsection.

So to summarize:

• Tunisia uses the Tunisian Dinar
• The general term for money is Flous / فلوس
• A unit of Tunisian money is called a Dinar / دينار
• Fractions of Dinars are by the thousand (1,000)
• A fraction of a Dinar is officially titled a Milliemes / ملّيم
• Despite the official name of Milliemes / ملّيم, what’s most common to speak about a fraction of a Dinar is the word Franc / فرنك.
• Another common way to speak about a Dinar is by the word Alf / ألاف (pronounced like Lef / لاف), which means 1,000 Franc (Essentially saying 1,000 Milliemes / Franc(-k))

Recordings: (By IBL contributor Aroua F.)

Flous / فلوس:

Dinar / دينار:

Lef / لاف (written as Alf / ألف ):

Milliemes / ملّيم:

Franc / فرنك:

Dinar versus Alef

You may wonder when to use the word Dinar / دينار and when to use the word Alf / ألف (again, in the context of money, is pronounced Lef / لاف). Amongst Tunisian Arabic speakers they are synonymous. There are trends though.

Dinar

If someone is describing one unit of measurement (Say that you are buying a Dabouza ma / دبوزة ماء (Bottle of water) for 1 Dinar), what is most commonly spoken is simply Dinar / دينار. (In Tunisian Arabic, it’s not conventional to speak or write 1 Dinar or We7ed Dinar / وحد ةدينار, and saying Lef / لاف, in this case, would be uncommon) It’s most conventional to describe 1 Dinar as simply Dinar.

Lower priced items

When products are relatively lower in price—usually under 40 Dinar but amounts can vary—either Lef or Dinar can be spoken, but it’s more common to refer to lower monetary values as Alef / ألاف.

The price of the Stika ma / ستيكة ماء (Pack of water bottles) could be referred to as 2arb3a alef / أربعة ألاف (4 Alef / Dinar), the price of malfouf (a type of wrapped food indigenous to Tunisia) as khamsa alef / خمسة ألاف (5 Alef / Dinar), and the movie ticket as 3ashra alef / عشرة ألاف (10 Alef / Dinar)

A side note: Above you probably noticed that numbers are used as letters in a couple places. (A few times in this article you’ve probably noticed certain words that contain numbers as letters in them (e.g., “2arb3a…” “3ashra…”, etc.) For more information on the use of numbers as letters in Tunisian Arabic, see the the article: Numbers as letters in Tunisian Arabic.

Below IBL contributor, Nada A., pronounces 2arb3a lef / أربعة ألاف:

IBL contributor, Aroua F., pronounces Khamsa lef / خمسة ألاف:

IBL contributor, Nada A.., speaks 3ashra lef / عشرة ألاف:

A point about the -s suffix

If someone is conventionally trained in English or one of the Romance languages (e.g., French, Italian, Spanish, etc.) there is a tendency to want to use the suffix -s on the end of words that are in the plural form. In the context of the topic of this article, this would be represented as Dinars, Alefs, etc. And although the vast majority of Tunisian Arabic speakers would understand you if you say the word “Dinars” as would be pronounced in English, it’s important to note that the concept of the -s to denote that a word is pluralized doesn’t exist in Tunisian Arabic Arabic dialects, including Tunisian Arabic. (Except in few exception—An exception is explained at the bottom of this paragraph) Instead of an -s suffix, and to a greater degree than in English and the Romance languages, larger variations in the spelling of pluralized words often occur. For example, the singular word “Photo” is Taswira / تصويرة, whereas, its pluralized counterpart, Photos, is Tsawer / تصاور. There are many examples such as the foregoing in Tunisian Arabic. But when it comes to money, there is no modification of the operative word to distinguish whether its singular or plural. In other words, Dinar, Lef, Franc, etc. are used whether the number being expressed is one unit or multiple units. (e.g., If the price of a product is 70 Dinar, then it’s 70 Dinar (not 70 Dinars)) The numeral used is what distinguishes if the operative word is singular or plural. With this said, an exception to this rule occurs sometimes (not in every case) with Tunisian Arabic words in the plural form that originate from French. For instance, relative to this article, the word Milliemes / ملّيم, which is a derivative of French, when written using the Latin script is always written with its -s suffix. (Except in the case of one unit, which would be Millieme) For more information on this topic read the IBL article, How nouns function in Tunisian Arabic.

Understanding commas versus periods (dots)

If you’ve spent enough time in Europe and North America (namely Canada & the U.S.) you likely have observed that the way the two regions of the world use the comma (,) and period (or dot) (.), as it pertains to money, are opposite to each other. When dealing with monetary values, this can be an important concept to understand!

In Tunisia the same system as the Euro is followed for how commas and periods are used in communicating a monetary value. To use an arbitrary number: “one-thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight dollars/euros and seventy-five cents” would be written in the two regions noted above as:

North American Dollar System — $1,758.75

European Euro System — 1.758,75€

(And yes, unexpectedly at this point, the placement of the currency symbol is opposite too: North American Dollar systems puts the icon before the amount, whereas, the European Euro system puts the icon after the value.)

The Tunisian Dinar (or TND, DT, or dt) uses the same syntax as the Euro system. To represent that same number above (but with modifications to denote the dinar and franc) one-thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight dinar and seven hundred and fifty franc would be written like this:

1.758,750 dt

Written out in Tunisian Arabic it is:

Latin script — Malyoun w sab3a mye w thmanya w khamsin dinar w sab3a mye w khamsin frank

Arabic script — مليون و سبعة مية و ثمنية و خمسين دينار و سبعة مية و خمسين فرنك

A note that there is no symbol that represents the Tunisian Dinar. Conventionally the abbreviation (as noted above, TND globally and domestically, DT or dt)

Below Aroua F. pronounces 1.758,750 dt:

Numismatics

Like most currencies, Tunisian Dinar comes in both bills and coins. Here is a full listing of current known currency amounts: (As of the date that this article was published)

Bills

200 Dinar

100 Dinar

50 Dinar

20 Alef

10 Alef

5 Alef

Coins

5 Alef

2 Alef

Dinar

500 Franc

200 Franc

100 Franc

50 Franc

See below a photo taken by Ithaca Bound Languages of a collection of Tunisian Dinar after a recent trip to Tunisia:

More on fractions

As mentioned above denominations under a Dinar are officially titled Milliemes / ملّيم and are commonly referred to as Franc(-k) / فرنك. It’s always important to keep in mind one of the first points in this article—A Dinar is comprised of 1,000 Franc. This understanding guides someone in speaking about fractions of a Dinar.

As examples, a candy bar may be 500 franc, you may end up leaving 750 franc on the tawla / طاولة (table) after you finish drinking delicious mint-flavoured Kesin tey / كيسان تاي (Cups of tea), and you may find an extra 200 franc in your pocket sometime.

A side note: In Tunisian Arabic the word “Change” (as in coins and other small denominations of money) is Sarf / صرف.

Below are examples of fractions of dinar being written and spoken.

0.500 dt (Khamsa myet frank / خمسة مية فرنك)

0.850 dt (Thmanya mye w khamsin frank / ثمنية مية و خمسين فرنك):

2.850 dt (Alfin w thmanya mye w khamsin frank / ألفين و ثمنية مية و خمسين فرنك)

23,750 dt (Tletha w3echrin alf w sab3a mye w khamsin frank / تلاثة و عشرين ألف و سبعة مية و خمسين فرنك)

Getting into bigger numbers

As mentioned above there is no set rule on when to use Alef versus Dinar (they both mean 1,000 Milliemes or Franc) but the word Dinar is spoken more frequently with larger numbers. Below are some examples of larger numbers written and spoken in Tunisian Arabic.

That moped (moutour / موطور) may be 1.500,000 dt (Malyoun w nos or Malyoun w khamsa myet alf or Malyoun w khamsa myet dinar  / مليون و خمسة مية دينار or مليون و خمسة مية ألف or مليون و نصّ) (A note that nos / نصّ means “half“)

The two plane tickets (Deux billets / دو بياي) may total 2.225,000 dt (Zouz mleyen w mitin w khamsa w 3echrin dinar / زوز ملاين و ميتين و خمسة و عشرين دينار)

A car (karhba / كرهبة) may be 5.700,300 dt (Khamsa mleyen w sab3a myet alf w tletha myet frank / خمسة ملاين و سبعة مية ألف و تلاثة مية فرنك)

The boat (flouka / فلوكة) may be 50.000,750 dt (Khamsin malyoun w sab3a mye w khamsin frank / خمسين مليون و سبعة مية و خمسين):

And a house (dar / دار) may be 250.100,000 dt (Mitin w khamsin malyoun w myet alf / ميتين و خمسين مليون و مية ألف):

The rules for Alf versus Alef

As noted in the opening section of this article Alf / ألف means one thousand (1,000) and Alef / ألاف is this word in the plural form. (with some exceptions as noted below) With money, Alf /Alef refer to the part of a monetary value that has an immediately proceeding comma (namely, “[],000”) (Note: What comes after the comma are always Franc / Milliemes) Although Alf is the singular and Alef is the pluralized version, certain rules apply to money. Here is how to know which word to use (and the introduction of Alfin / ألفين):

• If the number is 1,000 to 1,999, Alf is used
• If the number is 2,000 to 2,999, Alfin / ألفين is used. The -in is common in Tunisian Arabic to pluralize a word as two units. (e.g., Mye / ميّة means one hundred (100), whereas, Mitin means two hundred (200);  Nhar / نهار means one day, whereas, Nharin / نهاين means two days; etc.)
• If the number is 3,000 to 10,999, Alef / ألاف is used. 
• And if the number is 11,000 and higher, for that section of the number, Alf is used again. It’s used in both 23,750 dt and even 250.100,000 dt above.

A tip: A simple thought sequence that may assist in remembering the rule above is (while keeping in mind Alf and its associated words always refer to the part of the monetary value that has three total digits after it (i.e., “[].000”)

• 1 — Alf
• 2 — Alfin
• 3-10 — Alef
• 11 & higher — Back to Alf again

An important note about pronunciation: At the start of this article it was mentioned that Alef / ألاف when pronounced is pronounced as Lef / ألف. This is the natural occurrence of elision amongst Tunisian Arabic speakers (written words and/or the speech of words being modified to be easier or faster to communicate) The foregoing chart shows that Alef is used in the 3-10 range. These numbers all end with the Arabic letter ة (called te2 marbouta)—e.g., “five” is khamsa / خمسة, “eight” is thmnaya / ثمنية, etc. Because Alef / ألاف starts with a similar sound (the أ which has an “a” sound to it too), Tunisian speakers don’t speak the أ  sound in Alef / ألاف  as it will sound like a double “a” and so instead skip the letter أ in the word and simply pronounce Lef / ألف.

The rules for Malyoun and Mleyen

Malyoun / مليون means million. In some values of money (see the bullet list below for its rules), it is used to refer to the section of a monetary value that has a total of six digits following its immediately proceeding dot (i.e., “[].000,000”) Mleyen / ملاين is the plural version of Malyoun. Like, Malyoun, Mlyen / ملاين used in some values of money to represent the same section of the value—the part with an immediately proceeding dot that has a total of six digits that follow (i.e., “[].000,000”) Like the Alf / Alef section above, in Tunisian Arabic, the rules for using these two words isn’t as simple as Malyoun for 1.000,000-1.999,999 and Mleyen for 2.000,000 & above. Here are the rules:

• If the number is 1.000,000-1.999,999, Malyoun / مليون is used
• If the number is 2.000,000-2.999,999, Zouz mleyen / زوز ملاين is used. Zouz means two when referring to a pair of objects or concepts, and as mentioned above, Mleyen is Malyoun in the plural form. In an example above, 2.225,000 dt is translated as Zouz mleyen w mitin w khamsa w 3echrin dinar / زوز ملاين و ميتين و خمسة و عشرين دينار.
• If the number is 3.000,000-10.999,999, Mleyen / ملاين is used. In an example above, 5.700,300 dt is written as Khamsa mleyen w sab3a myet alf w tletha myet frank / خمسة ملاين و سبعة مية ألف و تلاثة مية فرنك.
• If the number is 11.000,000 and higher, Malyoun is used. In an example above,  250.100,000 dt is written as Mitin w khamsin malyoun w myet alf / ميتين و خمسين مليون و مية ألف.

A tip: Like the Alf / Alef usage, here is a thought-sequence that may be useful to remember this rule: (always keeping in mind that Malyoun / Mleyen pertains to the part of a monetary value that has six digits following—i.e., “…000,000”):

• 1 — Malyoun
• 2 — Zouz malyoun
• 3-10 — Mleyen
• 11 & higher — Back to malyoun

Closing thoughts

Understanding this article can give you an excellent foundation for how Tunisian money works and how it’s referred to. (both in writing and in speech) If you wish to speak more Tunisian Arabic when you’re shopping next, we recommend you read the IBL article — Buying stuff in Tunisian Arabic. And if you want to learn to write and speak different words and phrases related to money, here is the IBL platform list, Tunisian Arabic — Money matters.

Glossary

Alf — Alf / ألف means one-thousand (1,000). It represents the part of a monetary value that has an immediately proceeding comma (i.e., “[],000”) in monetary values of 1,000-1,999 and 11,000 and higher) Its pronounced as Lef / ألف when referring to money. (Its used in the 1.758,750 dt example above).

Alef — Alef / ألاف is the plural form of Alf / ألف. In monetary values it represents the part of the value that is immediately proceeded with a comma (i.e., “[],000”) and is used in values of 3,000-10,999.

Alfin — Alfin / ألفين means two thousand. Like Alf and Alef, in monetary values, it represents the part of the value that is immediately proceeded with a comma (i.e., “[]…”) and is used in values of 2,000-2,999.

Dinar — The Dinar / دينار is the principal unit of measurement of Tunisian currency. In using a comparison, it’s the Tunisian version of a Dollar or Euro.

Dinar Tunisien — The word Tunisian Dinar in French.

DT (or dt) — The most common domestic abbreviation of the Tunisian Dinar.

Franc (or Frank) — Fractions of a Dinar. (Synonymous with Milliemes) Its commonly spoken to represent such fraction.

Malyoun — Malyoun / مليون means million. It is used to represent the section of a monetary value that has a period followed by a total of six digits ([].000.000), and is in the singular form. (E.g., Malyoun is the first word spoken and written in the 1.758,750 dt example above)

Mitin — Mitin / ميتين means two hundred. It can be used for larger sums of money too (e.g., Mitin is the first word spoken and written in the 250.100,000 dt example above)

Milliemes — Milliemes / ملّيم is the official name of fractions of a Dinar. (Synonymous with Franc) The word ملّيم (Milliemes) appears on all Tunisian coins valued at less than a Dinar.

Mleyen — Mleyen / ملاين is the plural form of Malyoun / مليون. Like Malyoun, it represents the part of a monetary value that has a dot immediately proceeding it followed by a total of six digits ([].000.000). Its used in numbers 3.000,000 – 10.999,000. (Its used in the 5.700,300 dt example above)

Mye — Mye / ميّة means one hundred. (100) In monetary values it is used to note when part (or all) of a value is in a denomination of one hundred. It can be used to represent Dinar and/or Franc in a monetary value (For example, Mye is used twice in the 1.758,750 dt example above)

TND — The global abbreviation of the Tunisian Dinar.

Tunisian Dinar — The currency of Tunisia.

Sarf — The word Sarf / صرف, in English, means pocket change.

Zouz malyoun — Zouz malyoun means two million. In monetary values its the part of a value that is immediately proceeded with a dot and has a total of six digits following that dot (“[].000,000) and is used in the numbers 2.000,000 – 2.999,999.