n9i نقي
Algerian Darja · adjective
“n9i” (نقي) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning clean, neat.
Meanings
- clean, neat
- pure, innocent
Usage
The word is pronounced nqi in darja; the feminine is nqiya and the plural nqiyin. It describes a place, a piece of clothing or a well-groomed person: dar nqiya, "a clean house". In the moral sense, one speaks of a pure heart, qelb nqi, or of "clean" content, meaning free of vulgarity. This use is frequent in online comments, with the more standard pronunciation naqi. Its usual opposite is mwessekh ("dirty").
Example
الدار نقية اليوم
eddar nqiya lyoum
“The house is clean today.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “n9i” but also “nqi”, “nki”, “naqi” and “n9iya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “n9i” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “clean, tidy”; “pure, clear (air, water)”: n9i in Moroccan.