lahda لحظة
Algerian Darja · noun
“lahda” (لحظة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning moment, instant.
Meanings
- moment, instant
Usage
Pronounced "lahda" or "lahdha". This word comes from Standard Arabic but is well established in speech, especially in fixed expressions: "fi ay lahda" (at any moment), "kol lahda" (every moment), "lahda hlowa" (a beautiful moment). To say "wait a moment", spontaneous usage prefers "stenna chwiya" or "dqiqa". Still, you do hear "lahda" on its own, as an interjection to make someone wait. The register is neutral, slightly more refined than "chwiya". The word is frequent in comments and speeches that evoke memories or emotions.
Example
كانت لحظة ما ننساهاش.
kanet lahda ma nensahach.
“It was a moment I won't forget.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lahda” but also “la7da”, “lahdha”, “la7dha” and “lahza”. 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 “lahda” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “moment, instant”; “just a moment!”: la7da in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “moment, instant”; “just a moment! (asking to wait)”: la7dha in Tunisian.