wa6i واطي
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“wa6i” (واطي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning low, not high.
Meanings
- low, not high
- base, contemptible
Usage
Wa6i describes something low, not high: a wall, a table, a voice. The feminine is wa6ya. It is related to the verb waṭṭa, "to lower" ("waṭṭi rasek", lower your head). Figuratively, it describes a base person or behaviour, without dignity; it is then pejorative, even insulting, and should be used with caution. Context tells the senses apart: applied to an object, the word is neutral; applied to someone, it expresses contempt.
Example
الطاولة هذي واطية برشا
tawla hedhi wa6ya barcha
“This table is very low.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wa6i” but also “wati”, “waty”, “wa6y” and “wa6ia”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 6 is emphatic ta (ط).
Type “wa6i” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “low, not high”; “lower part, downstairs”: wati in Algerian.