rih ريح
Algerian Darja · noun
“rih” (ريح) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning wind.
Meanings
- wind
- air (tyre, engine)
- rest, calm down (reyyeh)
Usage
Rih first means "wind": kayen rih, "it's windy". It also refers to air in mechanics, for example in a tyre or an air intake in a fuel line. The same Arabic spelling can correspond to reyyeh, the imperative of "to rest", used to invite someone to sit down, settle or calm down: reyyeh rouhek, "take a rest". Context and pronunciation resolve the ambiguity. Both words are very common and of neutral register.
Example
اليوم كاين ريح بزاف.
lyoum kayen rih bezzaf.
“Today it's very windy.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rih” but also “ri7”, “reyeh”, “reyyeh” and “riih”. 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 “rih” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to sit down, take a seat”; “to rest, relax”: ryye7 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “wind”; “draught (fajj ri7)”: ri7 in Tunisian.