3aycha عايشة
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“3aycha” (عايشة) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning alive, living.
Meanings
- alive, living
- living (somewhere, in some way)
Usage
3aycha is the feminine active participle of 3ach (to live). The masculine is 3aych and the plural is 3aychin. It means "alive", for example in "ken 3aycha" (if she were alive), or "living", with a place or a manner: "3aycha fi França" (she lives in France), "3aycha 3la a3sabi" (I live on my nerves). It agrees with a feminine noun or a collective such as "nes 3aycha" (people who live). Pitfall: the same spelling matches the first name Aïcha. Only context tells them apart.
Example
جدّتي مازالت عايشة في الريف
jeddti mezelet 3aycha fi rrif
“My grandmother still lives in the countryside.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3aycha” but also “3aysha”, “aycha” and “3ayche”. 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.