wach bessah واش بصاح
Algerian Darja · expression
“wach bessah” (واش بصاح) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning really?, is that true?.
Meanings
- really?, is that true?
- are you serious?
Usage
Wach bessah is made up of wach (interrogative marker) and bessah ("truly, for real"). The expression is used to ask for confirmation of surprising news, or to show astonishment and disbelief. Depending on the intonation, it can be sincere or ironic. It is very common in speech and in messages, in an informal to neutral register. A pronoun can be added: "wach bessah rak tmed ?" (are you really serious?). Bessah is also used alone as an answer: "bessah !" (it's true!).
Example
واش بصاح نجح فالباك؟
wach bessah nje7 fel bac?
“Is it true that he passed the bac?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wach bessah” but also “wech bessah”, “wach bsa7”, “wach besah” and “wesh bessa7”. 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.