ri7a ريحة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“ri7a” (ريحة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning smell, scent.
Meanings
- smell, scent
- perfume, cologne
- trace, hint of something
Usage
Ri7a is the common word for "smell", good or bad. Before a complement, it takes the form ri7et: ri7et el khobz, "the smell of bread". Used on its own, fih ri7a ("it smells") often suggests a bad smell. It is also used for a perfume that one wears. Figuratively, it means a trace or a hint of something: ma fihech ri7et…, "there is not a trace of…". The related verb is chamm, "to smell, to sniff". For a smell that spreads, one says tfou7 ("to be fragrant"). Do not confuse it with ri7, "wind".
Example
ريحة الكسكسي تحل الشهية
ri7et el kosksi t7el ech-chahiya
“The smell of couscous whets the appetite.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ri7a” but also “ri7et”, “riha”, “re7a” and “ri7t”. 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 “ri7a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “smell, scent”; “perfume”: ri7a in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “smell, scent”; “fragrance, perfume”: riha in Algerian.