mach ماش
Algerian Darja · particle
“mach” (ماش) is a particle in Algerian Darja meaning not (before a noun, adjective).
Meanings
- not (before a noun, adjective)
Usage
Mach is a short form of machi, the negation for sentences without a conjugated verb. It is placed before a noun, an adjective, a participle, an adverb or a pronoun: mach rajel ("not a man"), mach mli7 ("not good"), mach ana ("not me"). A conjugated verb is negated differently, with ma… ch, as in ma nfhemch ("I don't understand"). The pitfall is using mach before a conjugated verb. However, mach is correct before a participle: ana mach fahem ("I don't understand"). Mach is also used in contrasts: mra mach rajel ("a woman, not a man").
Example
هادا ماش ديالي، ديال خويا
hada mach dyali, dyal khouya
“This isn't mine, it's my brother's.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mach” but also “mech”, “mache”, “mash” and “mesh”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mach” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “not, it is not (short form of machi)”; “aren't you? (in a question)”: mach in Moroccan.