7abes حابس

Tunisian Derja · adjective

“7abes” (حابس) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning stopped, at a standstill.

Meanings

1. stopped, at a standstill
2. stuck, stagnant

Usage

7abes is the participle of the verb 7bes, "to stop". It describes something at a standstill: a car, a machine, a worksite or an activity. Applied to a person, it means they are blocked, inactive or stagnating: "3lech tab9a 7abes?" (why do you stay doing nothing?). The feminine is 7absa. Pitfall for an English speaker: the word does not mean "imprisoned"; for prison, one says ma7bous instead. Repeated ("7abes 7abes"), it can also serve as a command meaning "stop". The register is everyday and colloquial.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7abes” but also “habes”, “7abess” and “7abs”. 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 “7abes” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “lame, uncool, uninteresting”; “dumb, clueless”: 7abes in Algerian.