hamichi هامشي
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“hamichi” (هامشي) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning marginal, secondary.
Meanings
- marginal, secondary
- negligible, unimportant
Usage
Hamichi comes from the standard (literary) register. In darija it is used mainly in serious discussions, on the radio or about social issues: a problem or detail that is hamichi is of no real importance. Applied to neighbourhoods or people, it suggests marginalization: l-ahya l-hamichiya, "the outlying neighbourhoods." The feminine is hamichiya. In everyday conversation, people more readily say machi mouhim ("not important") or ma kaydir walou. Pitfall: the word has a somewhat formal tone and can sound bookish in casual conversation.
Example
هادشي حاجة هامشية، خليها
hadchi 7aja hamichiya, khalliha
“This is a minor detail, forget it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hamichi” but also “8amichi”, “8aamichi”, “hamshi” and “hamichiya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.