mech7a7 مشحاح
Algerian Darja · adjective
“mech7a7” (مشحاح) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning stingy, miserly.
Meanings
- stingy, miserly
- tight-fisted, ungenerous
Usage
Mech7a7 describes a person who is reluctant to spend or give: it is the equivalent of "cheapskate". It is also used by extension, for example for a teacher stingy with good grades (mech7a7 fi tenqit). The word is often mocking, and the miser is a classic character in Algerian jokes (qalek wa7ed mech7a7…). It is informal, but not insulting. The synonyms mzayer and mesmar are also found. The common opposite is yeddou metlou9a, "he has an open hand". The word can be used as a noun: "a cheapskate".
Example
صاحبي مشحاح، ما يخلص حتى قهوة
sa7bi mech7a7, ma ykhelles 7atta 9ahwa
“My friend is stingy, he doesn't even pay for a coffee.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mech7a7” but also “mch7a7”, “mechhah”, “mechehah” and “mchahah”. 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.
Type “mech7a7” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “stingy, miserly”; “counting every penny”: mech7a7 in Tunisian.