7erb حرب
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7erb” (حرب) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning war.
Meanings
- war
- conflict, bitter rivalry
Usage
7erb means war in the literal sense: "kant l7erb" (there was war). Figuratively, it is used for a serious rivalry or dispute, between neighbours or between football clubs. The plural is 7rob. One says "f 7erb" for "at war". Do not confuse it with hreb, pronounced with a plain h, which means "to run away". The difference between the two h sounds is clear in speech but often blurred in arabizi writing.
Example
الأوروبا كانت ف حرب
2oroppa kant f 7erb
“Europe was at war.”
Forms
| plural | 7oroub |
|---|
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7erb” but also “7arb”, “harb” and “7rb”. 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 “7erb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “war, armed conflict”; “fight, struggle (figurative)”: harb in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “war”; “conflict, fierce struggle”: 7arb in Tunisian.