mafihach مافيهاش
Algerian Darja · expression
“mafihach” (مافيهاش) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning it's hopeless, no chance.
Meanings
- it's hopeless, no chance
- there isn't any (in it)
Usage
Mafihach literally means "there is none in it". Used on its own, it expresses that something won't happen or that it is pointless to hope: "had l3am mafihach" (this year, nothing doing). Its opposite, "fiha", asserts that something is certain or possible. In its literal sense, it takes a noun: "mafihach rgad" (no sleep, impossible to sleep), "mafihach mlh" (there is no salt in it). The register is informal and spoken. The pronoun -ha refers to a feminine thing or to the situation in general; it does not necessarily refer to a person.
Example
هاد الخدمة مافيهاش، ما تتعبش روحك
had lkhedma mafihach, ma tte3bech rou7ek
“This job is a lost cause, don't wear yourself out.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mafihach” but also “mafihech” and “mafihache”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.