tayah طايح
Algerian Darja · adjective
“tayah” (طايح) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning fallen, on the ground.
Meanings
- fallen, on the ground
- low-level, poor
- vulgar, lacking class
Usage
Tayah is the participle of tah (to fall). Literally, it describes what has fallen or is on the ground: "lqit portable tayah". Figuratively, very common on social media, it describes a low standard or unworthy behavior: "niveau tayah bezzaf" (the standard is very low), "bnadem tayah" (someone with no class). It is often paired with khchin (crude). The feminine is tay7a and the plural tay7in. The register is informal and often contemptuous in the figurative sense. Not to be confused with tayeb (cooked, or good).
Example
لقيت التيليفون طايح في الطريق
lqit tilifoun tayah f triq
“I found the phone lying on the street.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tayah” but also “tayeh”, “tayh”, “tay7” and “taye7”. 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 “tayah” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fallen, on the ground”; “downcast, in low spirits”: tayeh in Tunisian.