hawi هاوي
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“hawi” (هاوي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning amateur, non-professional.
Meanings
- amateur, non-professional
- fan, enthusiast
Usage
Hawi refers to someone who practices an activity for pleasure, without making it their profession: an amateur musician, filmmaker or athlete. The common plural is hwet or hawiyin, and one speaks of "nadi hwet" for an amateur club. The word can also describe an enthusiast: "hawi koura" (football fan), "hawi sayd" (hunting enthusiast). Depending on context, it can take on a pejorative nuance and mean "not serious" or "beginner-level". It is an everyday term, also heard in the media. Do not confuse it with hawa ("air, wind").
Example
هو مش محترف، يلعب كورة هاوي في نادي الحومة.
howa mouch mo7tarif, yal3ab koura hawi fi nedi l7ouma.
“He's not a professional, he plays football as an amateur in the neighborhood club.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hawi” but also “haoui” and “hawy”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “hawi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “amateur (non-professional)”; “enthusiast of something”: hawi in Moroccan.