l7seb لحساب
Tunisian Derja · noun
“l7seb” (لحساب) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning calculation, arithmetic.
Meanings
- calculation, arithmetic
- math (school subject)
- the tally, the bill to pay
Usage
L7seb is the form of 7sab or 7seb with the article: the initial "l" corresponds to "the". The word first means calculation and counting, then mathematics at school. For example, "behi fil 7seb" (good at math) or "na3mlou l7seb" (let's work out the bill). In a restaurant or among friends, it can also mean the bill or the total to be paid. Note: in written phrases such as "li-7sab charika" (on behalf of a company), it is the Modern Standard Arabic preposition. It is not the everyday Tunisian noun. Neutral, everyday register.
Example
ولدي ما يحبش لحساب، يقول صعيب برشا.
weldi ma y7ebbech l7seb, yqoul s3ib barcha.
“My son doesn't like math, he says it's very hard.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “l7seb” but also “el7seb”, “l7sab” and “lhseb”. 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 “l7seb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “calculation, accounts”; “consideration, taking into account”: l7sab in Moroccan.