7ob حبّ
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7ob” (حبّ) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning love.
Meanings
- love
- grains, seeds
- pimples, spots (on the skin)
Usage
The same spelling covers two words pronounced differently. L7obb is love: the word belongs to a rather elevated register, that of songs, series and declarations, and everyday conversation more often uses the verb bgha. L7ebb means grains, seeds or pimples on the skin. It appears in 7ebb o tben, straw and grain, and in 7ebb lmlouk, cherries. The shopkeeper's expression ach 7ebb lkhater? means "what would you like?". Here, 7ebb is a verb (to desire).
Example
الحب ماشي غير الهضرة
l7obb machi ghir lhedra
“Love is not just words.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan7bb | 7bbit | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat7bb | 7bbiti | 7bb |
| nti (you, f.) | kat7bbi | 7bbiti | 7bbi |
| howa (he) | kay7bb | 7bb | |
| hiya (she) | kat7bb | 7bbat | |
| 7na (we) | kan7bbo | 7bbina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat7bbo | 7bbito | 7bbo |
| homa (they) | kay7bbo | 7bbo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ob” but also “7obb”, “7bb”, “7ebb”, “hobb” and “houb”. 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 “7ob” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to want”; “to love, to like”: 7ab in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “love”; “seeds, grains (in compounds)”: 7ob in Tunisian.