qowwa قوة
Algerian Darja · noun
“qowwa” (قوة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning strength, power.
Meanings
- strength, power
- awesome, great (praise)
Usage
Qowwa first means physical strength or power: "ma 3andi hatta qowwa" (I have no strength left). In online comments and in speech, it is also an admiring exclamation about a video, a performance or a person: "qowwa !" (so good, awesome). This second use is informal and very common among young people. The phrase "bel qowwa" means "by force, against one's will", or "necessarily, inevitably". Do not confuse this exclamatory use with the concrete noun. Context and intonation show which is meant.
Example
ما عندي حتى قوة اليوم
ma 3andi hatta qowwa lyoum
“I have no strength today.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “qowwa” but also “9owa”, “qouwa”, “kowa” and “9wa”. 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 “qowwa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “physical strength, vigor”; “power, might”: 9wwa in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “strength, power”; “by force, necessarily (bel 9owwa)”: 9owwa in Tunisian.