7mar wa7chi حمار وحشي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7mar wa7chi” (حمار وحشي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning zebra.
Meanings
- zebra
Usage
7mar wa7chi is the expression for the zebra. It comes from Standard Arabic and is learned at school, in documentaries or at the zoo. In conversation it is used as it is, generally with the article: l7mar l-wa7chi. The word has no spontaneous, common plural; it is rephrased if needed. Note: wa7chi means "wild", and the expression is not pejorative at all, unlike the use of 7mar alone as an insult.
Example
شفنا الحمار الوحشي فالزو
chefna l7mar lwa7chi f zoo
“We saw the zebra at the zoo.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7mar wa7chi” but also “7imar wa7chi”, “7imar w7chi” and “hmar wahchi”. 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.