herres هرّس
Moroccan Darija · verb
“herres” (هرّس) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to break, smash.
Meanings
- to break, smash
- to break open, bash in
Usage
Herres (imperfect yherres) is the usual verb for breaking an object: a glass, a door, a plate, a phone. It often implies some violence or breaking into pieces. The passive or reflexive t-herres means "to break": "t-herres l-kas" (the glass broke). The verb is also used for bones: "herres rjlu" (he broke his leg). Colloquially, "herres l-bal" or "herres r-ras" means "to get on someone's nerves". Do not confuse with kser, which is more general and has the same basic meaning.
Example
هرّس ل كاس
8rres l kas
“He broke the glass.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan8rrs | 8rrst | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat8rrs | 8rrsti | 8rrs |
| nti (you, f.) | kat8rrsi | 8rrsti | 8rrsi |
| howa (he) | kay8rrs | 8rrs | |
| hiya (she) | kat8rrs | 8rrsat | |
| 7na (we) | kan8rrso | 8rrsna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat8rrso | 8rrsto | 8rrso |
| homa (they) | kay8rrso | 8rrso |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “herres” but also “8rres”, “hrres”, “8arres”, “harres” and “8rrs”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.
Type “herres” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to smash, to shatter, to break”; “to hit hard, to beat up”: herres in Algerian.