riha ريحة
Algerian Darja · noun
“riha” (ريحة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning smell, scent.
Meanings
- smell, scent
- fragrance, perfume
- trace, evoked memory
Usage
Riha is the usual word for "smell", good or bad: riha mliha (a good smell), riha khayba (a bad smell). With the article and a complement, one says riht el khobz, the smell of bread. Used alone, the word can refer to the perfume one wears; the corresponding verb is chamm, to smell. Figuratively, riha evokes a trace or a memory: riht lebled, riht el ham (the scent of the homeland, of the family). In some expressions, it also means that one has gotten wind of something. The plural is riyouh, rare in speech.
Example
ريحة الخبز تاع الدار ما كاش كيفها.
riht el khobz ta3 dar ma kach kifha.
“Nothing compares to the smell of homemade bread.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “riha” but also “ri7a”, “rih”, “ria7a” and “rii7a”. 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 “riha” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “smell, scent”; “perfume”: ri7a in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “smell, scent”; “perfume, cologne”: ri7a in Tunisian.