What does Habibi mean in Arabic ?

My beloved

It’s for a girl to say to a guy right? Not a guy to say to a woman ?

“an Arabic word whose literal meaning is my beloved (for a male object of affection; the feminine form is habibti or habibati)”

I’ve heard it used casually as just a greeting or affectionate term; “Hey habibi” – kind of like “Hey mate!”

Yep, what @syz said.

Zen?

It means buddy. Same root for friend as in Hebrew and semitic languages – but I think only men say it to other men. It’s more affectionate than friend, it’s like pal or buddy.

It’s in Hebrew slang as well.

When I put Haviv (same letters as Habib – I won’t go into it – it’s Hebrew) into google translate – it reminded me that it means favourite – and when I added the last letter – the “ee” sound at the end of the phonetic Habibi – it came up with buddy. I see the connection – my favourite, my favourite friend, my buddy.

Not sure about it being only for men to say to other men. As my wife is a belly dancer, I have listened to more than my share of belly dance music and I have observed that the term Habibi is one of the most common words used in that particular music and in every case I can think of the song is being sung by a woman.

Maybe it just means buddy – and women can say it to others too – as in a girlfriend, or guyfriend. Remember their culture is very different.

I just saw what syz wrote and I think that’s correct from the grammar I know – but the question was about Habibi – which is why I said it was masculine.

Our guide in Egypt called our group Habibi’s. He said it meant “Darling.”

It’s a term of endearment – but it’s meant for a man. The female version is Habibti.

It can’t be just darling, as darling could be used to describe other things, whereas Habibi means pal or buddy. You wouldn’t say that is a darling horse in Arabic and use the term Habibi. It really means buddy.

ZEN OUT

I’ve heard it used between guys (non-sexual), between guys and girls, and from a parent to their child.

I dunno about parent to child, but maybe.

My love.

Responding to whst Zen said, it most definitely does NOT mean buddy or friend. In fact the closest meaning is “my beloved” or “darling”. It comes from the root word حب(hub) which means love.

It can however be used as a term for buddy or mate when talking to men. Nevertheless it doesnt mean buddy or friend. It is one of the most common words used for men to call each other.