mach ماش
Moroccan Darija · particle
“mach” (ماش) is a particle in Moroccan Darija meaning not, it is not (short form of machi).
Meanings
- not, it is not (short form of machi)
- aren't you? (in a question)
Usage
Mach is a shortened form of machi, very frequent in fast speech and in online writing. It negates a noun, an adjective, a participle or a whole phrase: mach rajel "he's not a man", mach khddam "he isn't working", hadchi mach chghli "that's not my business". It does not negate a conjugated verb: one says ma mchitch, not mach mchit. At the start of a question, it takes on a checking value: mach khddam ghedda? "aren't you working tomorrow?" The register is informal. Not to be confused with mchaw "they left", which is sometimes written in a similar way.
Example
ماش خدام غدا
m»ach khdam ghda
“Aren't you working tomorrow?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mach” but also “mash”, “mech”, “machi” and “mashi”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mach” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “not (before a noun, adjective)”: mach in Algerian.