wa7d w 3chrin واحد وعشرين
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“wa7d w 3chrin” (واحد وعشرين) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning twenty-one.
Meanings
- twenty-one
Usage
Wa7d u 3echrin means "twenty-one". The unit is placed before the tens and the two are linked by "u" or "w". The counted noun follows in the singular: wa7d u 3echrin youm, wa7d u 3echrin derham. Moroccans use this number in all registers for age, dates, quantities and prices. Pitfall for an English speaker: do not reverse the order by saying "3echrin u wa7d". In prices, the count may be in ryal rather than in dirham: ask which unit if in doubt.
Example
عندها واحد وعشرين عام
3ndha wa7d u 3echrin 3am
“She is twenty-one years old.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wa7d w 3chrin” but also “wahed w 3echrin”, “wa7d o 3chrin” and “wa7ed u 3ishrin”. 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; 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.