na7a نحى
Algerian Darja · verb
“na7a” (نحى) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to remove, take off.
Meanings
- to remove, take off
- to move aside, set aside
- to dismiss, get rid of
Usage
Nahha is the most common verb for "to remove" or "to take off": it is used for a piece of clothing, an object, a stain, or a person you push aside. The usual forms are the imperative nahhi (remove), the imperfect ynahhi, and the reflexive tnahha (to move over, step aside). For example, "nahhi sabbatek" (take off your shoes) or "nahhih men hna" (push him away from here). Figuratively, it also means to "dismiss" or "remove" someone from a post. The reference definition, which mentions a Lebanese accent, does not match Algerian usage. The h is aspirated and strong, and is often written 7 in arabizi.
Example
نحي صباطك قبل ما تدخل
na7i sbatek 9bel ma tedkhol
“Take off your shoes before you come in.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “na7a” but also “nahha”, “nahi”, “na7i” and “na77a”. 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 “na7a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to remove, take off”; “to move aside”: n77a in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “remove, take off”; “lower a price”: na7a in Tunisian.