7bes حبس
Algerian Darja · verb
“7bes” (حبس) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to stop, cease.
Meanings
- to stop, cease
- to stop, block something
- prison (el 7abs)
Usage
7bes is the common verb for "to stop". It applies to a car, a noise, a person walking or an activity: "7bes hna", "stop here". It is also used with an object: "7bes el moteur", "turn off the engine". In the imperative, "7bes!" means "stop!". It is also used for an interrupted activity: "7bes kolch", "everything has stopped". The imperfect is ya7bes. The noun el 7abs means "prison". Note that the primary meaning in darja is to stop, rarely to imprison.
Example
حبس هنا، راني نهبط
7bes hna, rani nahbat
“Stop here, I'm getting off.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7bes” but also “hbes”, “7abes”, “7bess” and “7abesse”. 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 “7bes” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to stop, cease”; “to stop, prevent, hold back”: 7bes in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “prison”; “to stop (verb 7bes)”: 7abs in Tunisian.