lawwen لون

Algerian Darja · verb

“lawwen” (لون) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to color, to add color.

Meanings

1. to color, to add color
2. to paint
3. to vary, to diversify

Usage

Lawwen, with the middle consonant doubled, is the verb derived from lon, "color". It is used for a child coloring in a drawing, or for someone painting an object or a wall: lawwen l'7it. It also means, figuratively, "to vary": lawwen fel makla, "vary the dishes". In an unvocalized text, the same spelling is often read as lon, the noun "color", which is much more frequent. Context allows the two to be told apart. To paint a wall, one also hears zwwaq or sbagh. The register is neutral.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lawwen” but also “lawen”, “lewen”, “lewwen” and “ylawwen”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “lawwen” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to color, add color”; “to dye, to paint”: lowwen in Moroccan.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “color”; “complexion (of the face)”: loun in Tunisian.