s7aba سحابة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“s7aba” (سحابة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning cloud.
Meanings
- cloud
Usage
S7aba means a cloud. It is the singular unit noun of the collective s7ab (clouds). The plural s7abat exists but is less frequent than the collective. In conversation, people often talk about an overcast sky with ghyam or with the adjective mghyyem (cloudy). S7aba is rather used for one particular cloud or in a slightly more careful register, such as weather reports. It should not be confused with the expression s7abli, from the same word family. It means "I thought that" and, for the speaker, has nothing to do with clouds.
Example
شوف داك السحابة كحلة، غادي تشتا
chouf dak s-s7aba k7la, ghadi tchta
“Look at that dark cloud, it's going to rain.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “s7aba” but also “sa7aba”, “shaba”, “ss7aba” and “se7aba”. 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.