dawa5 دوخ
Tunisian Derja · verb
“dawa5” (دوخ) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to make dizzy.
Meanings
- to make dizzy
- to stun, amaze
- to wear out, give the runaround
Usage
Dawwa5 literally means to make someone dizzy, as a fairground ride, heat, or a strong smell can. Figuratively, it means to stun or astound, as in "dawwa5 el 3alem" ("he astounded the world"). It can also mean to wear someone out with endless back-and-forth or complications: "dawwa5ni bel wraq" ("he made me run around in circles with the paperwork"). The intransitive form is de5, "to feel dizzy", and the corresponding noun is dou5a, "dizziness". Common register.
Example
الشمس دوّختني، نحبّ نقعد.
ech-chams dawwe5etni, n7eb no93od.
“The sun made me dizzy, I want to sit down.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dawa5” but also “dawwa5”, “dawekh”, “dawe5” and “dawwakh”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “dawa5” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to make dizzy”; “to confuse, to talk someone's head off”: dowwekh in Moroccan.