7nek حنك

Moroccan Darija · noun

“7nek” (حنك) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning cheek.

Meanings

1. cheek
2. jaw

Usage

7nek refers to the cheek, and more broadly to the lower part of the face down to the jaw. It is mostly used with a possessive pronoun: 7enki, "my cheek", 7enku, "his cheek". It often comes up when talking about a slap or a blow to the face, or a cheek swollen by a toothache. The word belongs to the everyday, familiar register. The plural is 7nak. Do not confuse it with 7nech, "snake", which sounds close to it in speech.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7nek” but also “7enk”, “7nk”, “7ank” and “hnek”. 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 “7nek” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “jaw, cheek”; “door jamb, doorframe”: 7nak in Tunisian.