dh3if ضعيف
Algerian Darja · adjective
“dh3if” (ضعيف) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning weak, without strength.
Meanings
- weak, without strength
- thin, skinny
- poor, low-level
Usage
Dh3if means "weak", physically or morally. It is also used to judge a level or quality: mestwa dh3if (a weak level), msalsal dh3if (a poor series). In Algeria it also very often means "thin": rak dh3if (you've lost weight, you're too thin). The feminine is dh3ifa and the plural is dh3af. The opposite is 9wi (strong) or, for the body, sman (fat).
Example
هاد الفريق ضعيف بزاف هاد العام
had l'équipe dh3ifa bezzaf had l3am
“This team is very weak this year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dh3if” but also “d3if”, “da3if” and “dha3if”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “dh3if” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “weak, lacking strength”; “thin, skinny”: d3if in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “weak, without strength”; “thin, skinny”: dh3if in Tunisian.