7essen حسّن
Moroccan Darija · verb
“7essen” (حسّن) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to shave, cut hair.
Meanings
- to shave, cut hair
- to improve
Usage
7essen, with a doubled s, is used mostly for shaving or cutting hair: "7essen rasek", shave your head, or "mcha y7essen", he went to get a haircut. The meaning "to improve" exists but belongs to a more formal register. A pitfall for learners: in Latin script, this verb is easily confused with "7sen" (better), a very frequent comparative without the doubled consonant: "ana 7sen mnha", I am better than her. The difference is heard in the doubled consonant. The derived noun "7ssana" means the haircut.
Example
غادي نمشي نحسّن عند الحجّام
ghadi nmchi n7essen 3nd l7ejjam
“I'm going to get a haircut at the barber's.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan7essen | 7essent | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat7essen | 7essenti | 7essen |
| nti (you, f.) | kat7essni | 7essenti | 7essni |
| howa (he) | kay7essen | 7essen | |
| hiya (she) | kat7essen | 7essnat | |
| 7na (we) | kan7essno | 7essnna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat7essno | 7essnto | 7essno |
| homa (they) | kay7essno | 7essno |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7essen” but also “7ssen”, “7ssn”, “hssen” and “7sen”. 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 “7essen” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to shave (beard, hair)”; “to get a haircut”: hassen in Algerian.