3wej عوج
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“3wej” (عوج) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning crooked, bent.
Meanings
- crooked, bent
- dishonest, shady
- (read 3ouj) crookedness, wrongdoing
Usage
Read as 3wej, this adjective describes what is not straight: a wall, a nail, a line. The feminine is 3ouja. Figuratively, it refers to a shady person or affair. With the same spelling, one also reads 3ouj, a noun meaning crookedness or scheming, as in the exclamation "mella 3ouj!" ("what a scam!"). The verb 3awwej means "to bend" or "to do crookedly". Note: Arabic script does not write the vowels, so only context lets you choose between the adjective and the noun.
Example
الحيط هذا عوج، شكون بناه؟
el 7it hédha 3wej, chkoun bnéh?
“This wall is crooked, who built it?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3wej” but also “3wiij”, “3ouj”, “awej”, “3waj” and “3wejj”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find عوج and عواج, 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 “3wej” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “crooked, askew”; “dishonest, not straight (person)”: 3wej in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to bend, twist”; “to tilt, lean”: 3wej in Algerian.