ri7a ريحة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ri7a” (ريحة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning smell, scent.
Meanings
- smell, scent
- perfume
Usage
Ri7a is the ordinary word for any smell, good or bad: you specify with an adjective, ri7a zwina (good smell) or ri7a khayba (bad smell). It is also very commonly used for the perfume you buy and wear: chrit ri7a, "I bought a perfume." With a possessive, ri7tek means "your smell" or "your perfume." The related verb is chemm, "to smell, to sniff." Without an adjective and in a negative context, ri7a alone can be enough to suggest a bad smell.
Example
لورد فيه ريحة زوينة
lwerd fih ri7a zwina
“The rose has a nice smell.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ri7a” but also “riha”, “r7a” and “rii7a”. 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 “ri7a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “smell, scent”; “fragrance, perfume”: riha in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “smell, scent”; “perfume, cologne”: ri7a in Tunisian.