fayeh فايح
Algerian Darja · adjective
“fayeh” (فايح) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning foul-smelling, stinking.
Meanings
- foul-smelling, stinking
- spoiled (food)
Usage
Fayeh describes whatever gives off a bad smell: spoiled food, shoes, a poorly ventilated room. It agrees in gender and number: "fayha" in the feminine, "fayhin" in the plural. It is used mostly as a predicate: "had el-hout fayeh", "this fish smells bad." Pitfall: in Standard Arabic, the same root evokes a scent that spreads, sometimes a pleasant one. In darja, fayeh is clearly negative and means "stinking." The word is informal, but not vulgar.
Example
هاد الحوت فايح، ما تاكلوش
had el-hout fayeh, ma takloush
“This fish smells bad, don't eat it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fayeh” but also “faye7”, “fayè7” and “fayah”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.