7a9 حق
Algerian Darja · noun
“7a9” (حق) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning right, what is owed.
Meanings
- right, what is owed
- truth, what is right
- by God (in an oath)
Usage
Le7a9 means a person's right, what is due to them. One says 3andek le7a9 for "you are right" or "you are within your rights", and a3tih 7a99o for "give him his due". The word is also used for swearing: 7a99 rabbi or 7a9 llah mean "I swear by God", and are very often used to emphasize a compliment or a statement, often lightly. Note the emphatic q, written 9 in arabizi. Do not confuse this word with the possessive particle ta3, which indicates belonging in darja.
Example
عندك الحق، ما كانش لازم يدير هكا.
3andek el7a9, makanch lazem idir haka.
“You're right, he shouldn't have done that.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7a9” but also “haq”, “hak” and “7aq”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “7a9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “right, what is due to someone”; “being right”: 7e99 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “right (being right), entitlement”; “price, cost”: 7a9 in Tunisian.