9ahwa قهوة
Algerian Darja · noun
“9ahwa” (قهوة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning coffee (drink).
Meanings
- coffee (drink)
- café (place)
Usage
The word means both the drink and the café where people go to sit, often among men. Depending on the region, it is pronounced qahwa, gahwa or kahwa. People readily offer someone a coffee: nechorbou qahwa? ("shall we have a coffee?"). For the drink, the type is often specified: qahwa kahla (black), qahwa b lehlib (with milk). The place sense appears with a preposition: rani fel qahwa ("I'm at the café"). The place is also sometimes referred to as qahwaji, which mostly means the café owner or server.
Example
جيبلي قهوة بالحليب
jibli qahwa b lehlib
“Bring me a coffee with milk.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ahwa” but also “qahwa”, “kahwa”, “gahwa” and “kahoua”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “9ahwa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “coffee (drink)”; “café”: 9ahwa in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “coffee (drink)”; “café (place)”: 9ahwa in Tunisian.