nhech نهش
Algerian Darja · verb
“nhech” (نهش) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to bite, to nibble.
Meanings
- to bite, to nibble
- to snatch, to yank
Usage
Nhech first means to bite, especially of an animal: a dog, a cat or a snake. It can also be used of a person who bites aggressively. By extension, it describes a sudden gesture of grabbing and pulling something, for example someone's hair. The verb is transitive and conjugates regularly: nhech, ynhech, nehchou. The register is colloquial and fairly expressive; it suggests violence or voracity. Pitfall for an English speaker: it is not the neutral verb for "biting into" food, which is rather 3odd or kla.
Example
الكلب نهشو في رجلو
lkelb nhechou f rejlou
“The dog bit him on the leg.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “nhech” but also “nhach”, “nhash” and “nhesh”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.