ri9 ريق
Tunisian Derja · noun
“ri9” (ريق) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning saliva.
Meanings
- saliva
- on an empty stomach (in 3la r-ri9)
Usage
Ri9 means saliva. The word appears mostly in the expression 3la r-ri9, "on an empty stomach", that is, before having eaten anything in the morning: certain remedies or a coffee are taken that way. People also say nchef ri9i, "my mouth is dry", to express thirst or fear. The register is common. In online comments, the word also appears in informal phrases like bla ri9, meaning "stop your nonsense". This usage is slang and its exact meaning varies with the context.
Example
ما نشربش القهوة على الريق
ma nochrobch el 9ahwa 3la r-ri9
“I don't drink coffee on an empty stomach.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ri9” but also “riq”, “rii9” and “ri2”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.