7lef حلف
Tunisian Derja · verb
“7lef” (حلف) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to swear, take an oath.
Meanings
- to swear, take an oath
- to vow to do something
Usage
7lef / ya7lef means "to swear" in the sense of taking an oath, not in the sense of using bad language, which is expressed differently. The typical construction is 7lef b + the thing sworn by: 7lef bellah ("he swore by God"). Followed by a clause, it expresses a firm resolution: 7left ma n3awedhech ("I swore not to do it again"). The derived form 7allef means "to make someone swear", and also "to beg" someone in God's name: 7allefتek bellah. The corresponding noun is 7lef ("oath"). The register is everyday.
Example
حلف إلي ما عادش يرجع يتكيّف.
7lef elli ma3adech yarja3 yetkayef.
“He swore he would never go back to smoking.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7lef” but also “hlef”, “7laf” and “7alef”. 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 “7lef” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to swear, to take an oath”; “to vow to do something”: 7lef in Moroccan.