7abba حبة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“7abba” (حبة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning piece, unit (fruit, vegetable…).
Meanings
- piece, unit (fruit, vegetable…)
- pill, tablet
- pimple, spot
Usage
7abba is used to count round or individual objects: fruit, vegetables, eggs, sweets. One says "7abba", "zouz 7abbet" or "tlatha 7abbet". At the market, it is used as a unit of sale, for example "9addech el 7abba?", "how much is it each?". The word also means a pill (7abba mta3 dwa) and a pimple on the skin. The register is common. Careful: in Egyptian, 7abba means "a little". This sense is not Tunisian, where one says chwaya.
Example
عطيني زوز حبّات طماطم.
a3tini zouz 7abbet tmatem.
“Give me two tomatoes.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7abba” but also “habba”, “7aba” and “7abbaa”. 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.