yedwi يدوي
Algerian Darja · verb
“yedwi” (يدوي) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning he speaks.
Meanings
- he speaks
- he chats
Usage
Yedwi is the imperfect of dwa, "to speak". This verb is very common in conversation: "wach tedwi?" means "what are you on about?", and "ma tedwich" means "shut up" or "don't talk about it". It refers to the act of speaking itself, not to "saying" something, which is rendered rather by 9al. It is constructed with m3a ("with") and 3la ("of, about"): "yedwi 3lik", "he is talking about you". It should not be confused with the Standard Arabic adjective yadawi, "manual", which is written the same way.
Example
علاش ما تدويش معاه؟
3lach ma tedwich m3ah?
“Why don't you talk to him?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “yedwi” but also “yadwi” and “yedoui”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “yedwi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “he speaks, he would speak”; “to talk, to confess (under pressure)”: yedwi in Moroccan.