rachwa رشوة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“rachwa” (رشوة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning bribe.
Meanings
- bribe
- corruption
Usage
Rachwa means a bribe and, more broadly, corruption. The word is shared by standard Arabic and Tunisian, and it comes up a lot in conversations about the administration, the police or football. The typical construction is 3ta rachwa, to give a bribe, or 5dha rachwa, to take one. The corresponding verb is rcha, to bribe, and someone who lets himself be bought is called mertchi. In informal speech, people also say "9ahwa", a coffee, to refer indirectly to a small bribe.
Example
حبّ يعطيه رشوة باش يفسّخلو المخالفة
7abb ya3tih rachwa bech yfasa5lou el m5alfa
“He wanted to give him a bribe so that he would cancel the violation for him.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rachwa” but also “rechwa”, “rashwa”, “rachoua” and “rechoua”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “rachwa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “bribe, backhander”; “bribery, corruption”: rachwa in Moroccan.