lahfa لهفة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“lahfa” (لهفة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning greed, covetousness.
Meanings
- greed, covetousness
- rush, panic buying
- feverish impatience
Usage
Lahfa expresses a pressing and often excessive urge to own or consume something. People talk about lahfa when they rush to buy a product that is running short, such as flour, oil or Ramadan goods. One says lahfa 'al-..., "rush on...". The word is generally pejorative: it suggests a lack of restraint. The adjective lahhâf, or the participle mlahhef, describes a greedy or gluttonous person. The classical Arabic sense of "ardent desire" or "longing" is less present in everyday speech.
Example
الناس عندها لهفة على الفارينة، فرغت الحوانت في نهار.
ennes 3andha lahfa 3al-farina, ferghet el-7wanet fi nhar.
“People are in a frenzy for flour; the shops were emptied in a single day.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lahfa” but also “lehfa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.