9ahwi قهوي
Algerian Darja · adjective
“9ahwi” (قهوي) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning brown (coffee-coloured).
Meanings
- brown (coffee-coloured)
- idle thug (derogatory)
Usage
Qahwi literally means "coffee-coloured", hence brown: sebbat qahwi, "brown shoes". The feminine is qahwiya. Colloquially, used as a noun or adjective, it contemptuously designates an idle young man who hangs around the street or café, with thuggish manners. Its plural is qahwiyin. In this sense, the word is derogatory and insulting; it is used to criticize a behaviour or a mentality, for example takhmam qahwi. It should not be addressed directly to someone.
Example
شريت جاكيت قهوي
chrit jaket 9ahwi
“I bought a brown jacket.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ahwi” but also “qahwi”, “kahwi”, “gahwi” and “9ahoui”. 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.