mashi cho3'lek ماشي شغلك
Algerian Darja · expression
“mashi cho3'lek” (ماشي شغلك) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning none of your business.
Meanings
- none of your business
- not your concern
Usage
Mashi cho3'lek is built from mashi (not) and cho3'l (business, affair) followed by a possessive pronoun. It is used to tell someone they are meddling in something that does not concern them. The tone ranges from a neutral remark to a curt retort, depending on intonation. The pronoun varies: mashi cho3'li (it's not my business), mashi cho3'lkoum (it's not your business, plural), mashi cho3'lou (it's not his business). Mashi cho3'li is often used to shrug off responsibility. Here cho3'l does not mean "work" in the sense of a job, but "personal business".
Example
علاش راك تسقسي؟ ماشي شغلك
3lach rak tsa9si? machi cho9lek
“Why are you asking? It's none of your business.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mashi cho3'lek” but also “machi chghlek” and “machi cho8lek”. 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; 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.