3icha عيشة
Algerian Darja · noun
“3icha” (عيشة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning life, way of living.
Meanings
- life, way of living
- standard of living, livelihood
Usage
3icha refers to life in the concrete sense: a way of life and the conditions of existence. One says 3icha mlii7a, "a good life", or hadi machi 3icha, "this is no life". The word is also used for the cost of living: l3icha ghalya, "life is expensive". It differs from 7yat, which refers more to life in the biological sense or to the course of a person's life. Note: the same spelling corresponds to the female first name Aïcha, very common in Algeria, so context is what tells them apart. The register is everyday.
Example
العيشة ولات غالية بزاف
l3icha wellat ghalya bezzaf
“Life has become very expensive.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3icha” but also “aicha”, “3aycha” and “3ycha”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.