mahboub محبوب
Algerian Darja · adjective
“mahboub” (محبوب) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning loved, well-liked.
Meanings
- loved, well-liked
- endearing, likeable
Usage
Mahboub describes someone whom others spontaneously like and appreciate. It is often used as a compliment: "nta mahboub bezzaf" (you are very well-liked). One also says "mahboub 3and ennas" (loved by people) and "mahboub 3and Rabbi" (loved by God), a frequent blessing formula. The feminine is mahbouba, the plural mahboubin. The word expresses affection and likeability more than romantic love. Mahboub is also a male first name, and Mahbouba a female first name.
Example
هاد الراجل محبوب عند الناس كامل.
had rajel mahboub 3and nas kamel.
“This man is liked by everyone.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mahboub” but also “ma7boub”, “mahbub”, “ma7bob” and “mahboob”. 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 “mahboub” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “loved, well-liked”; “popular, well regarded”: m7boub in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “loved, liked by people”; “likeable, endearing”: ma7boub in Tunisian.