l7ya لحية
Moroccan Darija · noun
“l7ya” (لحية) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning beard.
Meanings
- beard
- chin (rarer)
Usage
L7ya means beard. The word is used with the article in most contexts. Common constructions: "7essen l7ya" (to shave one's beard), "khella l7ya" or "twwel l7ya" (to grow one's beard). "Mul l7ya" refers to a bearded man. Depending on the context, it can refer to a pious man, sometimes with an ironic nuance. The plural is "l7ayat" or "l7i". The word is neutral and used in all registers. In speech, the first syllable is very short, hence the spellings "l7ya" and "le7ya".
Example
طوّلتي اللحية ديالك
twwelti l7ya dyalek
“You've grown your beard long.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “l7ya” but also “le7ya”, “la7ya”, “l7ia” and “lhya”. 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 “l7ya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “beard”: le7ya in Tunisian.