mech7a7 مشحاح
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“mech7a7” (مشحاح) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning stingy, miserly.
Meanings
- stingy, miserly
- counting every penny
Usage
Mech7a7 describes a person who refuses to spend or give, even when they can easily afford it. It is an informal word, often said in a tone of reproach or teasing between close people: "ya mech7a7!". It is used as an adjective (rajel mech7a7) or as a noun (houwa mech7a7 kbir). The feminine is mech7a7a and the plural mech7a7in. The word is pejorative without being vulgar. It mainly targets money, but can also describe someone who is stingy with their time or help. Avoid addressing it directly to an elder.
Example
عندو الفلوس أما مشحاح، ما يخلّص حتى قهوة
3andou el flous ama mech7a7, ma ykhalles 7atta 9ahwa
“He has money, but he's stingy: he won't even pay for a coffee.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mech7a7” but also “mach7a7” and “mechhah”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “mech7a7” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “stingy, miserly”; “tight-fisted, ungenerous”: mech7a7 in Algerian.