mahich مهيش
Tunisian Derja · pronoun
“mahich” (مهيش) is a pronoun in Tunisian Derja meaning she/it is not.
Meanings
- she/it is not
Usage
Mahich is the negative form of the pronoun hiya (she). It is equivalent to "she is not" or "it is not" when the subject is feminine, including for things: "eddenya mahich s3iba" (life is not difficult). It is used with an adjective, a participle or a place. The masculine is mahouch. In fast speech you also hear the shortened form mech, which is invariable. Agreement follows the grammatical gender of the Arabic word, which can be surprising: "el karhba mahich lehna" (the car is not here).
Example
الماكلة مهيش سخونة
el mekla mahich skhouna
“The meal isn't hot.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mahich” but also “mahiche”, “mehich” and “mahech”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.