chacha شاشة
Algerian Darja · noun
“chacha” (شاشة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning screen (TV, phone, computer).
Meanings
- screen (TV, phone, computer)
Usage
Chacha refers to the screen of a television, phone or computer. The word is feminine: "chacha kbira" (a big screen). The common plural is chachat. In conversation, many Algerians also simply say "l'écran", borrowed from French, especially for phones: "tkessret l'écran". Chacha remains common in the expression "3la chacha", meaning on television or on air. The term is neutral and used both in speech and in writing, including in the media.
Example
تكسرتلي الشاشة تاع التيليفون
tkessratli chacha ta3 tilifoun
“My phone screen broke.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chacha” but also “shasha”, “chcha” and “chachat”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chacha” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “screen (phone, TV, computer)”: chacha in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “screen (TV, phone, computer)”: chacha in Tunisian.