'Halawa’: The Arabic word for sweets has connotations beyond taste

The term is also used to describe personality, speech and faith

The meaning of the Arabic word halawa encompasses the heart, soul and body.

Literally translating as sweets or sweetness, it is used to describe not only flavour, but also speech, behaviour, affection and a much-sought-after state of faith.

The word comes from the trilateral Arabic root letters ha-lam-waw, which produces the verb hala, meaning “to be sweet”, and the adjective helw, meaning “sweet” or “pleasant”.

Halawa is the noun, referring to the state of sweetness itself, whether literal or expressed. As such, its most direct application is in reference to food, when describing sugar, honey or dessert.

Arabic sweets can be described generically as halawa. Photo: Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental

The word is also used to describe a person’s character rather than looks. Someone with pleasant, humane qualities, whether it is the tone of their voice, the contents of their speech or their genuine charm, is said to have a certain “halawa” to their personality.

In conversation, halawa is often used as a term of endearment. The popular Egyptian expression eh el halawa di, meaning “what is this sweetness”, is commonly used as the equivalent of saying “that’s so cute”.

Halawa can also describe a state of spiritual health, through the concept of halawat al iman. Meaning “the sweetness of faith”, it appears in hadith literature attributed to the Prophet Mohammed and is further discussed by scholars as a state to be attained and protected through constant reflection and treating others with kindness and justice.

In popular culture, Halawa is the title of an influential 1949 Egyptian film, starring Laila Fawzy and Kamal El Shennawy, a reference to the central character’s charm and appeal as she tries to build a career as an artist.

Heard in daily conversation, tasted in everyday meals and used to describe warmth and closeness, halawa reminds us that life can be filled with sweetness.