tahet bih طاحت بيه
Algerian Darja · expression
“tahet bih” (طاحت بيه) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning fortune turned against him.
Meanings
- fortune turned against him
- he has fallen low
Usage
Tahet bih is said of someone whom life has brought down. He has lost his position, his money or his prestige, and times have become hard for him. The implied subject is often "eddenya", life, or "eddounia", the world: "tahet bih eddenya". The tone is rather sympathetic or fatalistic. It is often used of someone who was once well off. The expression changes with the person concerned: "tahet biya", "tahet biha". It should not be taken literally as "she fell with him".
Example
كان عندو كلش، ومن بعد طاحت بيه الدنيا
kan 3andou koulech, w men ba3d tahet bih eddenya
“He had everything, and then life brought him down.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tahet bih” but also “tahat bih”, “ta7et bih” and “ta7at bih”. 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.