harref حرف
Algerian Darja · verb
“harref” (حرف) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to distort, twist (words).
Meanings
- to distort, twist (words)
- to falsify a text
Usage
Harref, with the middle consonant doubled, means "to distort" or "to twist", especially someone's words or an account. The typical expression is harref el-klam (to distort what someone said). In a religious context, the verb is also used for falsifying a text. It should not be confused with the noun harf, without doubling, which means "letter (of the alphabet)" or "character", as in harf ej-jim. The verb belongs to a rather formal or argumentative register; in everyday speech, one also says qleb el-klam (to turn someone's words around).
Example
ماقلتش هكا، راك تحرّف في الكلام.
ma qoultch haka, rak t7arref fel klam.
“I didn't say that, you're twisting my words.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “harref” but also “7arref”, “harraf” and “7arraf”. 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 “harref” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to twist, distort (words)”; “to falsify (a text)”: 7rref in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “letter (of the alphabet)”; “written character”: 7arf in Tunisian.