hbal هبل
Algerian Darja · noun
“hbal” (هبل) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning madness, insanity.
Meanings
- madness, insanity
- nonsense, something crazy
- crazy infatuation (hbel 3la)
Usage
Hbal means "madness". It is often used with exaggeration to describe an absurd situation or behavior: "wach hada, hbal ?" (is this madness, or what?). The verb hbel means "to go crazy". With the preposition 3la, "hbel 3lih" means "he is crazy about it, he loves it". The adjective is mahboul (crazy), feminine mahboula. The register is informal but not vulgar. Applied directly to a person, however, mahboul can offend. The meaning "foolish" given for other dialects does not match Algerian usage.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hbal” but also “hbel”, “hboul” and “hbl”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “hbal” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to go mad, lose one's mind”; “to be overwhelmed, lose it”: hbel in Tunisian.