nnawa7i النواحي

Moroccan Darija · noun

“nnawa7i” (النواحي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning environs, surroundings.

Meanings

1. environs, surroundings
2. around here, in the area

Usage

Nnawa7i is a plural noun meaning the surroundings of a place. It corresponds to "the environs" or "the area." It appears mostly in fixed phrases: f had nnawa7i, "around here, in this area", or nnawa7i dyal la ville, "the surroundings of the city". The singular na7ya means "side" or "direction." Do not be misled by the gloss "nearby": nnawa7i is not an adjective. It is a noun, always used with the article. The word belongs to an everyday register, slightly formal.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “nnawa7i” but also “nawa7i”, “nnawahi” and “nawahi”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.

Type “nnawa7i” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “surroundings, vicinity (of a place)”; “aspects, respects”: nwahi in Algerian.