7ell حلّ
Moroccan Darija · verb
“7ell” (حلّ) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to open.
Meanings
- to open
- to solve, untie
- solution (noun)
Usage
7ell is the usual verb for "to open": 7ell lbab, "open the door", or 7ell 3inik, "open your eyes". It also means "to solve" or "to undo": 7ell lmochkil, "solve the problem", or 7ell l3o9da, "untie the knot". The noun 7all means "solution", often with l9a: l9ina 7all, "we found a solution". The opposite of "to open" is sedd, "to close". For an English speaker, note that this everyday verb applies to doors and boxes as well as to problems.
Example
هو حل الباب
howwa 7ell lbab
“He opened the door.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan7ell | 7ellit | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat7ell | 7elliti | 7ell |
| nti (you, f.) | kat7elli | 7elliti | 7elli |
| howa (he) | kay7ell | 7ell | |
| hiya (she) | kat7ell | 7ellat | |
| 7na (we) | kan7ello | 7ellina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat7ello | 7ello | 7ello |
| homa (they) | kay7ello | 7ello |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ell” but also “7al”, “7el”, “7all”, “hell” and “7ll”. 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 “7ell” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to open”; “to solve, to settle”: hell in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to open”; “to solve (a problem)”: 7all in Tunisian.