7ayat حياة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7ayat” (حياة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning life, existence.
Meanings
- life, existence
- way of life
Usage
The word 7ayat designates life in the general sense: a person's existence or way of living. It is in common use, but it has a slightly more refined feel than l3icha, which is often used for concrete living conditions. With a possessive, the form becomes 7ayati (my life) or 7ayatek (your life). Affectionate expressions like 7yati (my life, my love) are very frequent. The associated verb is 3ach (to live), as in 3ach 7ayat mezyana (he had a good life).
Example
كنت عايشة حياة صعيبة
knt 3aycha hayat s3iba
“I was living a hard life.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ayat” but also “hayat”, “7yati” and “hayati”. 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 “7ayat” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “life, existence”; “way of life”: hayat in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “life, existence”; “personal affairs, private life”: 7ya in Tunisian.