7sel حصل

Moroccan Darija · verb

“7sel” (حصل) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to get stuck, be trapped.

Meanings

1. to get stuck, be trapped
2. to get caught red-handed
3. to land in a mess

Usage

In darija, 7Sel does not mean "to obtain" as in Standard Arabic: it means to find yourself stuck, physically or in a situation. You say 7Sel f la porte ("stuck in the door"), 7Selt m3ah ("I'm stuck with him") or 7Sel l-contrôle ("he got caught at the checkpoint"). The imperfect is y7Sel, and the verbal noun is 7SLa, "awkward situation, mess". The word is very common, colloquial and neutral. It should not be confused with the standard expression 7aSal 3la ("to obtain"), which is heard only in a formal register.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7sel” but also “hsel”, “7ssel” and “7sl”. 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 “7sel” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to be stuck, trapped”; “to get caught, trapped”: hsel in Algerian.