3chiya عشية
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3chiya” (عشية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning afternoon.
Meanings
- afternoon
- late afternoon, early evening
- in the afternoon (adverbial)
Usage
3chiya means the part of the day running from the afternoon to sunset. With the article, "el 3chiya" is used as an adverb: "this afternoon" or "in the afternoon". The word does not mean the evening meal, which is called 3cha, and it does not mean the night, which is called lil. A phrase like "3chiya kemla" means "a whole afternoon". The word is very common and belongs to all registers. For an English speaker, avoid always translating it as "evening". The word completes sbe7 (morning) and dhhor (noon).
Example
نتقابلو العشية في القهوة.
net9ablou el 3chiya fel 9ahwa.
“We'll meet this afternoon at the café.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3chiya” but also “3shiya”, “3achiya”, “3chia”, “aachiya” and “achiya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find عشية and عشيه, all the same word.
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.
Type “3chiya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “afternoon”; “late afternoon, early evening”: 3chiya in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “afternoon, late day”; “eve (of a holiday)”: 3chiya in Algerian.