feye9 فايق
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“feye9” (فايق) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning awake, not sleeping.
Meanings
- awake, not sleeping
- alert, wise to what's going on
Usage
Fèyeq is the participle of the verb "to wake up" and is used as an adjective: one asks "enti fèyeq ?" to find out whether someone is awake. The feminine is fèyqa, the plural fèyqin. With bqa, it means "to stay awake": bqit fèyeq el lil el kol, "I stayed up all night". Figuratively, fèyeq bih means "to have seen through someone", "not to be fooled". The word is common and informal. Note: it does not mean "alarm clock" (the object), and it is not the opposite of "asleep" in the sense of "slow-witted".
Example
مازلت فايق؟ الساعة ثلاثة متاع الليل!
mazelt fèye9? essa3a thletha mta3 el lil!
“Are you still awake? It's three in the morning!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “feye9” but also “fayek”, “fèye9”, “feyek” and “fayeq”. 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 “feye9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “awake, up”; “sharp, not fooled”: fay9 in Moroccan.