w7chi وحشي
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“w7chi” (وحشي) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning wild, ferocious (animal).
Meanings
- wild, ferocious (animal)
- cruel, brutal (person, act)
Usage
W7chi first describes a wild or ferocious animal, as opposed to a domestic one. Applied to a person or behavior, it means cruel, brutal, merciless: you hear it about an assault, harsh treatment or a violent person. The feminine is w7chiya and the plural is w7chiyin. In youth slang it can also express intensity, like "crazy" in casual English, but this use is secondary. It comes after the noun, with the article if the noun is definite: l-7ayawan l-w7chi.
Example
راه وحشي هاد الحيوان
rah w7chi had l7ayawan
“This animal is wild.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “w7chi” but also “we7chi”, “wa7chi” and “wahchi”. 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 “w7chi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “brutal, violent”; “wild (animal)”: wa7chi in Tunisian.