mechya مشية
Tunisian Derja · noun
“mechya” (مشية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning walk, walking distance.
Meanings
- walk, walking distance
- way of walking, gait
Usage
Mechya means first of all a walk, that is, the trip you make on foot or the time it takes. The typical expression is tchedd mechya, "it's quite a walk": 9addech tchedd mechya? means "how far is it on foot?". The word also means the way a person walks: mechyetou ma3wja, "he has an odd gait". As a noun of action derived from mcha (to go, to walk), it can also mean "an outing, a trip there". It is used in a neutral, colloquial register.
Example
الحانوت قريب، مشية خمسة دقايق.
el 7anout 9rib, mechya 5amsa d9aye9.
“The shop is close, a five-minute walk.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mechya” but also “mechia”, “mashya” and “mchya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mechya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “a going, a departure”; “gait, way of walking”: mechya in Moroccan.