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Make Love in Arabic: habibi, hayati, and 15 other ways to address your lover

Hi everyone!  After my last video, a friend mentioned that the only word he had known in Arabic was “habibi.” We talked about uses of the word–how we say “habibi” to a guy, and “habibti” to a girl.  We also use “habibi” when we are frustrated and trying to soften a statement that may seem a little harsh.  

After that conversation I thought about other names we call a sweetheart or lover in Arabic…and there are a ton. In this video I talk about habibi, hayati, and 15 other ways to address someone we love or care about a lot, whether it’s a boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, or even relatives/close friends.

Apart from
 
1. “habibi/habibti,” we have
2. حبي
pronounced “hoe-bee” and it means “my love.”
3. حياتي
Pronounced “hayati,” it means “my life.” 
4. عمري / بعد عمري 
“Alamr” means “age” but also “life.” People call their lover “amri” which means “my life” but they also say “ya ba’ad amri” which is a way of saying that you hope to die before they do–so that you don’t have to live without them in your life. The word ba’ad means “after.” 
5. شبدي/ يا بعد شبدي
This is an interesting one…so “shabdi” comes from “kabdi” which means “my liver.” Here’s my best explanation: the liver is an important organ and you don’t want to live without it…so people will call their lover “shabdi” (my liver) or say “ya ba’ad shabdi” to mean something like “I can’t live without you/I hope to die before you because you are so essential in my life.” 
6. طوايفي 
Pronounced “To-why-a-fee”
(side note: I hate not being able to use Arabic letters for Arabic words…this is why you don’t see me using the Arabicized English w/the numbers).
In colloquial Arabic, it means “my family/ancestors/tribe”– again, people say “ya ba’ad To-why-a-fee” to mean that I hope to die before you. 
7. قلبي 
“gelby” means “my heart.” 
8. يا لبى قلبك
 This is another way of saying you’re so
sweet/beautiful, etc. 
 
9. يا زينك
“ya zainik” means something along the lines of “how beautiful you are.”
10. روحي
“roo-hee” means “my spirit.”
11. عشقي 
Pronounced similar to “esh-qi” – it means “my love”–the word “eshq” is used to mean love/adoration.  “esh-qi” is like “حبي”
12. حلوتي
“helwa-ti” means “my sweet”–if you can think of “sweet” as a noun…like the way that a dessert is sweet.  The word “hel-oo” حلو is an adjective that means sweet (M). 
13. عيوني 
The word “eye-oo-ni” means “my eyes.” 
Kind of like “shabdi,” eyes are considered important and precious…so people will say انتي عيوني — you are my eyes. 
14. تاج رأسي
“taj ras-ee” means “the crown on my head.” 
15. غاليتي /يالغالي
The word “ghali”غالي means “expensive” or “precious.” I would say “ya al-ghali” to a guy, and use “ghaleyati” for a girl. 
16. يا قمر
The word “gamr” means “moon.” As I mention in the video, a full moon from Dubai/Gulf region looks incredible and it’s so beautiful that people use “moon” as a nickname for a beautiful woman. So in this case I’d use it for a female…probably not a guy unless it’s a small child. 
17. فديتك
This one isn’t so much a nickname as a phrase you say to someone you love. “fi-date-ak” means “I’d sacrifice myself for you/I’d die for you.” The closest thing we say in English is probably something like “I’m yours.” 
The last time I heard this was around Thanksgiving, when I opened a Snapchat message and read this little gem, which I translate and explain in the video:
 
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On a personal note, I’ve always found شبدي to be a little weird…also طوايفي…and يا لبى قلبك
 
That said, feel free to practice using your new words in the comments below!
If you don’t have arabic letters on your keyboard, try an overlay like this one
This is the one I have on my macbook pro:
They are cheap & protect the keys…win-win
 
Have a great weekend everyone! Happy April. 
 
-Shannon 

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