How to say "ardent longing (Arabic) → great, cool (Israeli slang)" in Arabic
LoanwordMeaningardent longing (Arabic) → great, cool (Israeli slang)
Arabic · Modern Standard Arabic
صَبَابَة
ṣabābaצבאבה
صبابة
Hebrew · Modern Hebrew
סבבה
sababaسَابَابَا
How the two words are related
Loanword
Borrowed between the languages (or by both from a third).
Arabic root
ص-ب-بIn classical poetry ṣabāba is lovesick yearning; Palestinian colloquial turned it into a word for anything you could yearn for — 'wonderful' — and Israeli slang adopted that sense as סבבה. The emphatic ص flattened to a plain ס on the way.
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In a phrase
فِي قَلْبِي صَبَابَة
fī qalbī ṣabābaפי קלבי צבאבהin my heart there is longing
More in Arabic You Already Speak
- sweeter, sweetest (Arabic) → great, the best (Israeli slang)aḥlāأَحْلَىאחלה
- by God! (Arabic oath) → really?!, wow (Israeli slang)wallāhوَاللّٰهוואלה
- pleasure, good mood (Arabic) → fun (Israeli slang)kayfكَيْفכיף
- pleased, contented (Arabic) → pleased, satisfied (Israeli slang)mabsūṭمَبْسُوطמבסוט
- straight ahead; frankly (Levantine Arabic) → straight talk, bluntly (Israeli slang)dughrīدُغْرِيדוגרי
- light, lightweight (Arabic) → careless, slapdash (Israeli slang)khafīfخَفِيفחפיף
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