Hawa is Arabic for air, or atmosphere.
While the word touches upon the layers of gas that envelop the planet, it also pays tribute to the unifying aspect of the air we breathe and can denote love or even a longing for home.
In her famous song Nassam Alayna El Hawa, Fairuz calls on the wind to sweep her back to her homeland. The song has become an anthem of homesickness among Arabic-speaking diasporic communities and resonates with nostalgia.
Stripping away the sentimental, the hawa of a country can also simply refer to its climate (munakh).
When someone says “fi hawa”, it usually means that there is a light breeze (naseem) or wind (rih) blowing about. When stepping out for some fresh air, you could say beddi itnaffas hawa naqi.
One famous maxim that uses the term is la yualej el nafs afdal min istinshaq al hawa al naqi, or, “nothing heals the spirit better than fresh air”. Hawa mulawath, on the other hand, is polluted air. In its verb form, hawwa means to air out, fan or ventilate.
Hawa also has its place in the lexicon of sweet nothings. You could tell your sweetheart “enta el hawa elli bitnaffaso” or “you are the air I breathe”.
On that note, hawa can mean love or passion. Plenty of popular Arabic songs use the word in that context, including Lebanese singer Yara’s Ah Mennak Ya Hawa and Abdel Halim Hafez’s El Hawa Hawaya and Ahwak.
Like its English counterpart, hawa can be used in a wide range of contexts. For a newscaster, it can mean being live on air. It can refer to something plummeting from above or a predatory bird diving for its prey. It can also be used to depict tall daydreams or castles in the sky (qusoor fil hawa).
Finally, but perhaps most entertainingly, hawa can also be used as an insult. If someone is getting on your nerves or is trying to run one by you, you could tell them to “kol hawa” or eat air, especially if you’re trying to avoid using expletives.
Scroll through the gallery below see The National's pick of Arabic words of the week
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Hob is the Arabic word for love, but can be used in many contexts -
The Arabic word helu translates, in English, to sweet -
Nashef is the Arabic word for dry, but has many connotations, depending on the context in which you use it -
The Arabic word hurriyeh translates to freedom in English -
The Arabic word tayeb can mean delicious or good, depending on the context -
The Arabic word mustaqbal is best expressed as future in English -
Waqaa, the Arabic word for fall, can signify a loss of power, stature, health or grace -
Hudood means borders in English -
The Arabic word rooh translates to spirit or soul in English -
The Arabic word ain means eye in English -
Waraq, the Arabic word of the week means paper in English -
Bahr, the Arabic for sea, has a poetic lilt -
Kareem means generous in English -
Bab means door in English -
Eid means holiday or festival -
Najm means star for the night sky and cosmos, but also has plenty of other meanings, including ambition or fame -
Alwan, the Arabic word for colours, has many shades of meaning -
Akel can refer to home-cooked meals, embezzlement, fire and rust -
Jamal is the Arabic word for beauty, be it literal or figurative -
Herfe translates to profession or craft -
Tabiaa translates to nature and can frame landscapes and portraits -
Sehha is the Arabic word for health -
Ijaza is Arabic for holiday and shines in summer but is not stress-free -
Aamal is the Arabic word for work -
Al dahr translates to time -
Qalb is a word for heart, with poetic roots -
Lugha in Arabic translates to language in English -
Insaan means human being -
Na'eeman is an idiomatic expression used when someone has had a shower or bath, a haircut or had their beard trimmed -
The Arabic word for life touches on eternity, death and accomplishment -
Qamar is the Arabic for moon -
The Arabic word for strength or power is quwwa -
Burj is Arabic for tower -
The Arabic word for sun is shams -
Sabr in English can translate to patience -
Hayba is the Arabic word for prestige -
The Arabic term al shay'e translates as 'the thing' in English -
The Arabic word for road is tareeq -
The Arabic word for read has mystical and scholarly connotations -
Istikan is the Arabic word for a type of tea cup -
The Arabic word hanan means affection in English -
The Arabic word atlal means ruins in English -
Kura is the Arabic word for ball, in all its forms -
Janaah in Arabic means wing in English -
The Arabic word sana translates to year in English -
Qasida is the Arabic for poem, not poetry -
Ameer, the Arabic word for prince, which influenced another English title -
Nakhla translates to palm tree in English -
Al samt is the Arabic for silence -
Kalimaat translates to words in English -
Markaz is Arabic for centre -
Beshara is the Arabic word for good news -
Bayt is the Arabic for house or home -
Fann is the Arabic word for art, and can be either a verb or an adjective -
Isim, which means name, is made up of three letters, alif, seen and meem -
Dunya is the Arabic word for world -
Nazaafah translates to cleanliness in English -
Many traditions revolve around drinking coffee, including weddings, funerals and business meetings -
Fajr is the Arabic word for dawn -
Maghrib is the Arabic word for sunset -
The Arabic language is filled with idioms, quotes and colloquial quips involving the mirror -
Raei is the Arabic word for opinion -
Wa'ed is a multifaceted word for 'promise', as well as a female name -
Qussa is the Arabic word for story -
Sadaaka is the Arabic word for friendship -
Akhbaar is the Arabic word for news -
Rasem is made up of the three Arabic letters Rah, Seen and Meem. While it can simply mean a drawing or a sketch it’s also a malleable word whose definition can change depending on context and dialect – particularly between colloquial and classical Arabic. -
As well as finishing a task, khatem denotes a deeper sense of finality -
Commonly translated to blessed, mubarak is used as a popular greeting on auspicious days -
The Arabic word for lighthouse is also a term that has become closely associated with Islam -
Siyaam, the Arabic word for fasting is also connected to silence -
Tawbah, the Arabic word for repentance, is also connected to Ramadan -
Safar, the Arabic Word for travel can also refer to sunny days, a brighter-blazing fire or exile. The National
