7lem حلم
Tunisian Derja · noun
“7lem” (حلم) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning dream during sleep.
Meanings
- dream during sleep
- aspiration, ambition
- to dream (verb form)
Usage
7lem (plural a7lem) refers both to the dream you have at night and to a dream in the sense of an aspiration ("7lemi nkoun tbib", "my dream is to be a doctor"). The same root gives the verb: "7lemt bik el bérah", "I dreamed about you last night". The expression "kén fil 7lem" ("only in a dream") is used to dismiss something impossible, often in a mocking tone. In arabizi, the vowel varies a lot between writers: 7lem, 7ilem, 7elm.
Example
مستحيل هههه كان فال حلم هههه
Mosta7il HH kan fil 7ilem HH
“Impossible, haha, only in a dream, haha.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7lem” but also “7ilem”, “7elm”, “7ilm” and “hlem”. 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 “7lem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to dream (while sleeping)”; “dream, aspiration (noun 7olm)”: 7lem in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to dream (while asleep)”; “to dream of, hope for”: hlem in Algerian.