massa5 مسخ
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“massa5” (مسخ) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning bland, tasteless.
Meanings
- bland, tasteless
- lame, dull, unfunny
- ugly, nasty (insult)
Usage
Literally, massa5 describes a dish that lacks salt or flavour: "el mekla massa5a", the food is bland. Figuratively, and very commonly, it describes a joke that isn't funny, a tedious person or a bad film, like "lame" or "rubbish". Said directly to someone, especially in "ya massa5", it becomes a fairly hurtful insult, often paired with other pejorative terms. Avoid it with strangers. The feminine is massa5a.
Example
الشربة اليوم مسّخة، ما فيهاش ملح.
echorba lyoum massa5a, ma fihech mel7.
“The soup is bland today, it has no salt.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “massa5” but also “masse5”, “mesa5”, “massekh”, “masa5” and “masa555”. 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.