7ebb chbab حبّ الشباب
Moroccan Darija · expression
“7ebb chbab” (حبّ الشباب) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning acne, teenage pimples.
Meanings
- acne, teenage pimples
Usage
7ebb chbab literally means "youth pimples". It is the usual term for acne, especially teenage acne. It is used with 3ndo or 3ndha (he or she has it), or with tle3 lih 7ebb chbab (acne has come out on him). For a single pimple, 7ebba is used instead. In everyday speech, people often just say l7ebb f wjho, "pimples on his face". The full form comes up in conversations about skincare and at the pharmacist.
Example
عندو بزاف ديال حب الشباب فوجهو
3ndo bzzaf dial 7ebb chbab f wjho
“He has a lot of acne on his face.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ebb chbab” but also “7bb chchbab”, “7ebb chchbab” and “hab chabab”. 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.