chahid شهيد
Algerian Darja · noun
“chahid” (شهيد) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning martyr.
Meanings
- martyr
- fighter killed for independence
Usage
Chahid (plural chouhada) is a word charged with emotion and respect in Algeria. It refers above all to the fighters who died during the war of independence. It appears in the famous phrase blad el-melyoun w ness melyoun chahid (the country of a million and a half martyrs). It also applies to anyone who died for a cause, or in a tragic way. The word is often used with a blessing, as in allah yer7am ech-chouhada (may God have mercy on the martyrs). The word takes no ironic or pejorative sense: it must be used seriously.
Example
جدو كان شهيد في الثورة
jeddou kan chahid fi thawra
“His grandfather was a martyr in the revolution.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chahid” but also “shahid”, “chahide” and “chouhada”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chahid” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “martyr”; “witness (especially God)”: chahid in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “martyr”; “one who died for the homeland”: chahid in Tunisian.