7ar حار
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“7ar” (حار) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning spicy, hot (food).
Meanings
- spicy, hot (food)
- to be at a loss
Usage
7ar is used first of all for spicy food: harissa, a chili pepper, a dish. The feminine is 7arra (felfel 7ar, harissa 7arra). Pitfall for an English speaker: for hot weather or a hot drink, people say s5oun (hot), not 7ar. The verb 7ar, "to be at a loss, not to know what to do", belongs to a narrative register, especially in tales. It is also found in the expression 7ar fi amrou (he no longer knew what to do). In the present tense, the form is yi7ir.
Example
الهريسة هذي حارّة برشا
el harissa hedhi 7arra barcha
“This harissa is very spicy.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ar” but also “har”, “7arr”, “7ara” and “7arra”. 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 “7ar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “spicy, hot (food)”; “fiery, burning the mouth”: 7arr in Moroccan.