bchwia بشويا
Moroccan Darija · adverb
“bchwia” (بشويا) is an adverb in Moroccan Darija meaning slowly, gently.
Meanings
- slowly, gently
- calm down, take it easy
Usage
Bchwiya, written here with a final alif, is simply a spelling variant of bchwiya (with ta marbouta). It means "slowly" or "gently", in both actions and speech. It is very common in the expression "ghir bchwiya 3lik" or "gha bchwiya 3lik", used to calm someone down: "easy", "don't get worked up." Repeated, "bchwiya bchwiya", it means "little by little." The register is everyday and informal. It is not the equivalent of "a little": to express a small quantity, say chwiya, without the b.
Example
غا بشويا عليك
gha b chwia alik
“Easy, calm down.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bchwia” but also “bchwiya”, “bshwiya” and “bchwya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.