mechwi مشوي
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“mechwi” (مشوي) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning grilled, roasted.
Meanings
- grilled, roasted
- méchoui (whole roast lamb)
Usage
Mechwi is the passive participle of chwa, "to grill, to roast". It mainly describes meat, fish or vegetables cooked over embers or in an oven: l7em mechwi, 7out mechwi. It comes after the noun and agrees with it: mechwiya in the feminine, mechwiyin in the plural. Used on its own as a noun, it means the whole roast lamb served at feasts and receptions. The French word "méchoui" comes from it. Do not confuse it with mqli, "fried", or mfewwer, "steamed".
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mechwi” but also “mchwi”, “machwi”, “mechoui” and “mchoui”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mechwi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “grilled, cooked over embers”: machwi in Tunisian.