7afa حافة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7afa” (حافة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning edge, rim.
Meanings
- edge, rim
- edge of a ravine, cliff
Usage
7afa refers to the edge of a surface or landform, especially the edge of a ravine or cliff. The word is rather formal or regional, notably in the North. For the edge of an object or a table, terf or jenb is more often heard in everyday speech. It appears in phrases such as "3la l7afa" (at the edge) or, figuratively, "3la 7aft..." (on the brink of...). The plural is 7afat.
Example
ما توقفش على الحافة، خطر
ma t-we99efch 3la l7afa, khatar
“Don't stand at the edge, it's dangerous.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7afa” but also “7affa”, “hafa” and “7aafa”. 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 “7afa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “edge, rim”; “brink (of a precipice, a crisis)”: 7affa in Tunisian.