chi شي
Algerian Darja · pronoun
“chi” (شي) is a pronoun in Algerian Darja meaning something.
Meanings
- something
- some, certain
- nothing (with negation)
Usage
Chi is one of the most frequent words in darja. On its own, it refers to an unspecified thing: "kayen chi?" (is there something?). Before a noun, it means "some, a certain": chi swalah (certain things), chi wahed (someone). With the negation ma... ch, it takes the meaning "nothing": "ma fhemt chi" (I didn't understand anything). Kolch, in one word, means "everything". Note: chi is not the interrogative "what?", which is wach or chnou depending on the region. The expression "hadak chi" means "that's how it is".
Example
ما فهمت والو، عاود قولي شي حاجة.
ma fhemt walou, 3awed goulli chi haja.
“I didn't understand anything, tell me something again.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chi” but also “chy”, “shi” and “chii”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “thing, something”; “nothing (with negation)”: chay in Tunisian.