7lef حلف
Moroccan Darija · verb
“7lef” (حلف) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to swear, to take an oath.
Meanings
- to swear, to take an oath
- to vow to do something
Usage
7lef means to swear, to take an oath. Present tense: "kan7lef", "ki7lef". One most often swears by God: "7lef b llah", and "7lef 3liya" means "swear it to me". To express a resolution, one says "7lefte ma nrje3", I swore not to come back. In conversation, people often ask someone to swear in order to check their sincerity. Note: this verb never means "to use bad words" like the English "to swear"; for that, one says "sebb". The corresponding noun is "l7elfa", the oath.
Example
باش نتيقك حلف عليا
bach nty9ek 7lef 3liya
“For me to believe you, swear it to me.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan7lf | 7lft | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat7lf | 7lfti | 7lf |
| nti (you, f.) | kat7lfi | 7lfti | 7lfi |
| howa (he) | kay7lf | 7lf | |
| hiya (she) | kat7lf | 7lfat | |
| 7na (we) | kan7lfo | 7lfna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat7lfo | 7lfto | 7lfo |
| homa (they) | kay7lfo | 7lfo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7lef” but also “7lf”, “hlef”, “7laf” and “7elef”. 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 “7lef” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to swear, take an oath”; “to vow to do something”: 7lef in Tunisian.