chayeb شيب

Tunisian Derja · verb

“chayeb” (شيب) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to make old, wear out.

Meanings

1. to make old, wear out
2. to turn grey, to age

Usage

Chayyeb belongs to the same family as chib (white hair) and chayeb (old man). It is mostly used with a pronoun: "chayyebni", "you turned my hair white". The sense is to wear someone out with worries, especially said of children or problems. It can also be said of someone who is ageing or going grey. Note: in the fixed expression "chib w 3ib", chib is a noun. It reproaches an older man for conduct unworthy of his age ("shame on you, at your age!").

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chayeb” but also “chayyeb”, “chib” and “shayyeb”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “chayeb” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “white hair, grey hair”; “old age (figurative)”: chib in Moroccan.