3wej عوج
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“3wej” (عوج) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning crooked, askew.
Meanings
- crooked, askew
- dishonest, not straight (person)
- clumsy, unlucky
Usage
3wej (feminine 3wja, plural 3wjin) describes what is not straight: a wall, a line, a nail. Applied to a person, the adjective becomes pejorative. It can then mean "shady", dishonest, or someone who never succeeds at anything. The root also gives the verb 3ewwej, "to bend" or "to put crooked". The word is used in several colloquial expressions. For example, mcha 3wej is said of a matter that turned out badly.
Example
هاد الحيط عوج شوية
had l7it 3wej chwiya
“This wall is a bit crooked.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3wej” but also “3waj”, “3wij” and “a3wej”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3wej” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to bend, twist”; “to tilt, lean”: 3wej in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “crooked, bent”; “dishonest, shady”: 3wej in Tunisian.