7wat حوات
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7wat” (حوات) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning fishmonger, fish seller.
Meanings
- fishmonger, fish seller
Usage
The word 7wwat refers to the fish seller. It is formed from 7out, "fish", with the pattern used for trade names, like khoddar (vegetable seller) or gezzar (butcher). It is used mostly with the article: l7wwat, "the fishmonger", or 3end l7wwat, "at the fishmonger's". It can refer to the market vendor as well as the street seller who goes around the neighbourhoods with a cart. Mind the spelling: the first sound is an aspirated h (written 7), not the kh (written 5) of khout, "sisters". Loose Latin spelling easily confuses the two words.
Example
شريت السردين من عند الحوات ديال السوق
chrit sardin mn 3end l7wwat dyal souk
“I bought the sardines from the fishmonger at the market.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7wat” but also “7wwat”, “hwat”, “houat” and “hawat”. 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.