7aja bizar حاجه بيزار
Algerian Darja · expression
“7aja bizar” (حاجه بيزار) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning a weird, strange thing.
Meanings
- a weird, strange thing
Usage
Haja bizar combines haja ("thing") and bizar, the French adjective "bizarre", adapted and very common in darja. The expression is used to comment on a strange situation or behavior, often in a tone of surprise: haja bizar, ma fhemtch ("it's weird, I didn't understand"). The adjective stays invariable: one also says rajel bizar or mra bizar. Without resorting to French, the equivalent is haja ghriba. The register is colloquial and everyday, typical of the Arabic-French mix of Algerian conversation.
Example
صرات معايا حاجة بيزار البارح
sarat m3aya 7aja bizar lbare7
“Something weird happened to me yesterday.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7aja bizar” but also “haja bizarre”, “7aja bizarre”, “haja bizar” and “7aja bizare”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.