chedda شدة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“chedda” (شدة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning hardship, difficult period.
Meanings
- hardship, difficult period
- intensity, strength
Usage
Chedda means a period of hardship: illness, financial difficulty, bereavement. It is heard above all in the consoling phrase chedda w tzoul, "it's a hard time, it will pass", said to someone going through a blow. It is often accompanied by rabbi m3ak, "may God be with you". The word also means "intensity": chedda mta3 el 7ram, "the intensity of the heat". This sense is rarer and closer to the standard register. Do not confuse chedda with chadda, "a catch, a haul" (for example an arrest).
Example
ما تقلقش، شدة وتزول
ma t9la9ch, chedda w tzoul
“Don't worry, it's a hard time and it will pass.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chedda” but also “chidda”, “cheda”, “shedda” and “chadda”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.