9asi قاسي

Tunisian Derja · adjective

“9asi” (قاسي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning harsh, severe.

Meanings

1. harsh, severe
2. cruel, merciless
3. hard to bear

Usage

The word 9asi describes a person lacking tenderness, a severe judgment, or a painful situation: "7okm 9asi", a harsh verdict, or "9albou 9asi", he has a hard heart. The feminine is 9asya. The register is neutral, slightly more formal than everyday words. For a physically hard object, like stale bread, one says 9asa7 instead. Pitfall for an English speaker: 9asi does not apply to a hard material; it keeps a moral or figurative sense.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9asi” but also “9assi”, “gasi”, “qasi” and “kasi”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.

Type “9asi” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “harsh, severe, merciless”; “hard, trying (situation)”: 9asi in Moroccan.