9wi قوي
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“9wi” (قوي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning strong, powerful.
Meanings
- strong, powerful
- intense, pronounced
Usage
9wi describes a physically strong person, an intense feeling or a potent product: a coffee, a medicine, a smell. It becomes 9wiya in the feminine and 9wéya in the plural. It is also used for someone talented or solid in a field: "9wi fel math" (good at maths). In youth slang, it expresses admiration for something impressive. Repeating letters in writing, as in "9wiii", adds emphasis. To say "very", use barcha rather than 9wi.
Example
القهوة هاذي قوية برشا
el 9ahwa hédhi 9wiya barcha
“This coffee is very strong.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9wi” but also “qwi”, “gwi”, “9wiy” and “9awi”. 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 “9wi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “strong, solid, sturdy”; “powerful, intense”: 9wi in Moroccan.