# All dialects: حوش



## Bruss04

I'm trying to learn the Libyan dialect and I was told the word used for House is 'Hoosh' 

Is this used much elsewhere?


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## Faylasoof

I don't know any dialects but in MSA there is:

حَوش Haush (s.) أحواش 2 aHwaash / حِیشان Hiishaan = courtyard, enclosure.


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## juventino

I'm Libyan 

As far as I know, 7oush is used in other dialects but only in the Libyan dialect does it mean house. For example, some Palestinian dialects use this word to mean garden.


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## Mahaodeh

In Iraq it is used to mean courtyard or house, specifically the traditional courtyard houses.


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## WadiH

Mahaodeh said:


> In Iraq it is used to mean courtyard or house, specifically the traditional courtyard houses.



The whole house?  Even the building itself and the rooms inside??


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## Mahaodeh

Yes and no; the courtyard is Hoosh, but it can refer to the house itself too بصيغة الكناية - that is, when you are going home you usually say رايح للبيت but you can say as an example اشتريت حوش بالحيدر خانة to mean that you bought a traditional Arabic courtyard house in that area.


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## WadiH

Ok, so the primary meaning is still the courtyard or the enclosed space surrounding the house.


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## Mahaodeh

Yes, except that the Hoosh does not include the space _surrounding_ the house, only the space _surrounded by_ the house; the space enclosed by the fence but surrounding the house (as in what is called in Jordan a "villa") is called the Hadeeqa حديقة if not paved or Tarma طرمة if paved.


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## Bruss04

Mahaodeh said:


> Yes, except that the Hoosh does not include the space _surrounding_ the house, only the space _surrounded by_ the house; the space enclosed by the fence but surrounding the house (as in what is called in Jordan a "villa") is called the Hadeeqa حديقة if not paved or Tarma طرمة if paved.



So could you use Hoosh to refer to a modern appartment building?


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## juventino

Bruss04 said:


> So could you use Hoosh to refer to a modern appartment building?



In Libyan, I think it depends on what you're intending. For example, if you want to say, "I like this apartment" then you'd say, "_3ajbitni hadi shiga_", not _7oush_. But if you reside in an apartment and are saying that you are going home, to your apartment, then you'd say, "_nimshi li l7housh_". Just a warning though, my Arabic isn't flawless so others should confirm . As far as I know, _7oush_ just replaces the common usage of _beit_.


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## djara

In Southern Tunisia we also use 7oush to mean traditional house which, typically, is a number of rooms surrounding a courtyard and/or a garden. 
When the garden is outside, Western style, we call it villa.
We also use the word 7oush or dar to mean home even when it is not a traditional house


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## elroy

juventino said:


> For example, some Palestinian dialects use this word to mean garden.


 It's not really a "garden" but more like a "yard."  But you're right; it certainly doesn't mean "house."


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## Enigmaa

In Egypt, 7osh is used in different places like:
1-7osh el madrasa - the courtyard of the school
2-also used to refer to the yard of the edifice - 7osh el 3omara


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## Hemza

[Moderator note: Thread merged with the previous one about the same word. Cherine]

Hello,

What does حوش means in your dialect (if it is used)? In Morocco, it means the space in front of the home, not really a garden but a kind of yard.


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## djara

In some Tunisian (mostly rural) regions, حوش is a house built around a vast courtyard.


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## Zoghbi

In Algeria the "7awsh" is a farmhouse or a house.


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## ًZolaz

I don't seem to have heard the word in Morrocan dialect , here a house is just دار in general , but I haven't heard dialects of all regions neither .


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## Hemza

I didn't say it mean "house", but it's a kind of yard around (or in front of) the house. And as you said, I don't think it's used everywhere in Morocco, mostly rural areas.


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## I.K.S.

Hemza said:


> I don't think it's used everywhere in Morocco, mostly rural areas.


Exactly, usually an obstacle of spiny plants accumulated surrounding the house to prevent undesirable animals or thieves getting into at night or a vertical rows of canes tied to each other and sometimes they build a short wall of white stones usually followed by a row of cactus just behind,I have read about ditches ,but never witnessed that technic myself ,and that's pretty much it .


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## Hemza

In the South of Morocco, apparently, people also use حوش (beside خيمة and دار)to mean "home". I heard it from an old man.


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