hlowa حلوة
Algerian Darja · adjective
“hlowa” (حلوة) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning beautiful, pretty, pleasant.
Meanings
- beautiful, pretty, pleasant
- sweet (to the taste)
Usage
Hlowa is the feminine of hlou. The primary meaning is "sweet", but the word is used very broadly to say that something is beautiful or pleasing: a city, a memory, a voice, a way of speaking. It is warmer and more casual than chaba, which refers mostly to physical beauty. It is also applied to a likeable person. The plural is hlouwin. Note for an English speaker: the word is not limited to taste, and in most sentences the right translation will be "beautiful" or "pleasant" rather than "sweet".
Example
الجزائر حلوة بزاف فالصيف
ldzayer hlowa bezzaf fessif
“Algeria is very beautiful in summer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hlowa” but also “hlwa”, “helwa”, “hloua” and “7lowa”. 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 “hlowa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “cake, pastry”; “sweet, candy”: 7lwa in Moroccan.