7ab y9oul حب يقول

Algerian Darja · expression

“7ab y9oul” (حب يقول) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning that means, in other words.

Meanings

1. that means, in other words
2. so, which means that

Usage

Literally, 7ab y9oul means "he wants to say". The expression introduces a conclusion or a rephrasing: "ma jach, 7ab y9oul ma yhemmouch", "he didn't come, so it doesn't interest him". It is fixed and does not agree with the subject. It is often used to draw a consequence, sometimes with a hint of irony or reproach. It can be compared to ma3nataha, yetsamma or safi, depending on the context. The pitfall is to understand it literally as "he wanted to say". It is simply a logical connector, specific to the informal register.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “7ab y9oul”. 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 “7ab y9oul” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “in other words, that means”; “he meant to say”: 7ab ye9oul in Tunisian.