tahiya تحية
Algerian Darja · noun
“tahiya” (تحية) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning greeting, salute to someone.
Meanings
- greeting, salute to someone
- tribute, shout-out
Usage
Tahiya is used to greet someone or pay tribute to them, especially in writing and in online comments. The typical formula is tahiya lik or tahiya kbira l-, "a big greeting to", often followed by a mention of the writer's origin (min wlad..., "from the people of..."). It is a word of Standard Arabic origin, but it has entered everyday use as the equivalent of "big up" or "shout-out". In everyday spoken greetings, salam or sahit is used instead.
Example
تحية كبيرة لخاوتنا في وهران
ta7iya kbira l khawatna f wahran
“A big greeting to our brothers in Oran.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tahiya” but also “ta7iya”, “tahia”, “ta7ia” and “tahiyya”. 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 “tahiya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “greeting, salute”; “tribute, mark of respect”: t7iya in Tunisian.