habib حبيب
Tunisian Derja · noun
“habib” (حبيب) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning beloved, darling.
Meanings
- beloved, darling
- dear friend, close one
Usage
Habib refers to the person one loves, but also a very close friend or a person one esteems. It is often used with a possessive: habibi (my darling, my friend) and habibti (my darling, feminine). These forms serve as affectionate terms of address between close ones, between friends, and from parents to their children. From a shopkeeper or a stranger, habibi can be a simple familiar phrase, with no romantic connotation. The plural is hbéb or ahbéb, and refers to close ones, friends. It is also a very common male first name in Tunisia.
Example
هو حبيبي من وقت القراية
houwa 7bibi mel wa9t el 9raya
“He's been my dear friend since school.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “habib” but also “7bib”, “hbib”, “7abib” and “habibi”. 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 “habib” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “friend, close friend”; “darling, beloved”: 7bib in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “dear friend, buddy (as address)”; “beloved, lover”: habib in Algerian.