7ekka حكّة

Moroccan Darija · noun

“7ekka” (حكّة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning itch.

Meanings

1. itch
2. metal box, tin can

Usage

7ekka means an itch, from the verb 7ekk, "to scratch". One says 3endi l7ekka, "I have an itch", but the verbal phrase ka7ekkni, "it itches me", followed by the body part, is used very often. The same word, often pronounced 7okka, also means a metal box or a tin can, for example 7okka dyal tomatich. Context is enough to tell the two meanings apart. The register is familiar and common, with no particular connotation.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ekka” but also “7kka”, “7okka”, “hekka” and “7eka”. 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 “7ekka” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “box, container”; “tin, can”: 7okka in Tunisian.