7ayawen حيوان
Tunisian Derja · noun
“7ayawen” (حيوان) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning animal, beast.
Meanings
- animal, beast
- brute, idiot (pejorative)
Usage
7ayawen means an animal in general. It is also used for a pet: 7ayawen alif. For farm animals, one says 7walla (sheep), bhayem (livestock) or the specific name of the animal instead. Applied to a person, the word becomes a moderate insult meaning "brute" or "idiot". In sports talk, it can also be a familiar compliment for a player of impressive physical power. The plural is 7ayawanet.
Example
عندي حيوان في الدار، قطوس
3andi 7ayawen fel dar, 9attous
“I have an animal at home, a cat.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ayawen” but also “7ayawan”, “hayawen”, “7aywen” and “7ayawane”. 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 “7ayawen” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “animal”; “brute, boorish person (pejorative)”: 7ayawan in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “animal, beast”; “brute, idiot (insult)”: 7ayawan in Algerian.