7ayawanat حيوانات
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7ayawanat” (حيوانات) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning animals (in general).
Meanings
- animals (in general)
- pets
Usage
7ayawanat is the plural of 7ayawan, "animal". It is used for animals in general: 7ayawanat bariya (wild animals), 7adi9at l7ayawanat (the zoo). In conversation it can also mean pets, for example 3ndk chi 7ayawanat f ddar ? ("do you have any animals at home?"). The word comes from the standard register but is in common use. For a specific animal, people usually use its name: mch (cat), kelb (dog). Said of a person, 7ayawan is an insult, whereas the neutral plural is not a problem.
Example
كنتمناو متكونش حيوانات برية ف الغابة
kantmanaw mtkonch 7ayawanat bariya f lghaba
“We hope there are no wild animals in the forest.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ayawanat” but also “hayawanat”, “7aywanat” and “hayawanate”. 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 “7ayawanat” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “animals”; “beasts (domestic or wild)”: 7ayawanet in Tunisian.