bechwiya بالشوية
Algerian Darja · adverb
“bechwiya” (بالشوية) is an adverb in Algerian Darja meaning slowly, gently.
Meanings
- slowly, gently
- little by little, gradually
- easy!, take it easy! (interjection)
Usage
Bechwiya is formed from the preposition b- and chwiya ("a little"). It is used very commonly to say that one does something without haste or roughness: tkellem bechwiya ("speak slowly"), sug bechwiya ("drive slowly"). It also means "little by little", for slow progress. Alone or followed by 3lik / 3lina, it works as an interjection to calm someone down or tone down a joke: bechwiya 3lina, "go easy on us". It belongs to the informal, everyday register. Pitfall: do not confuse it with chwiya alone, which means "a little" and indicates a quantity.
Example
سوق بالشوية، الطريق راهي مزلقة.
sug bechwiya, triq rahi mzel9a.
“Drive slowly, the road is slippery.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bechwiya” but also “bchwiya”, “bechouia” and “bechwia”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bechwiya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written بشوية, where it means “slowly, gently”; “carefully”: bchwiya in Moroccan.