machi tabi3i ماشي طبيعي
Moroccan Darija · expression
“machi tabi3i” (ماشي طبيعي) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning not normal, abnormal.
Meanings
- not normal, abnormal
- unnatural, unusual
Usage
A regular construction made of the negation machi and the adjective tabi3i (normal, natural). It is used to point out that a situation, a behavior or a price is out of the ordinary. It is very frequent as an exclamation: hadchi machi tabi3i! (this isn't normal!). The feminine is machi tabi3iya. Depending on the tone, it expresses worry, indignation or ironic admiration. One also hears machi normal, borrowed from French, with the same meaning.
Example
هادشي ماشي طبيعي، خاصنا نشوفو طبيب
hadchi machi tabi3i, khassna nchofo tbib
“This isn't normal, we need to see a doctor.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “machi tabi3i” but also “mashi tabi3i”, “machi tbi3i” and “machi tabii3i”. 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.