حبذا / لا حبذا

How Fine and How Wretched

Level 6

Use حبذا (How fine is...) to praise something and لا حبذا (How wretched is...) to condemn it. These are formal, fixed expressions where the demonstrative ذا never changes, regardless of the gender or number of the noun that follows.

How It Works

The expressions حبذا and لا حبذا are sophisticated tools in Modern Standard Arabic for expressing subjective judgment.

1. Structure and Agreement:
Unlike most Arabic verbs that must agree with their subject, the ذا in these expressions is fixed. Even if you are praising a feminine noun or a plural group, you must use the masculine singular form ذا.

  • Correct: حبذا المرأةُ (How fine the woman is)
  • Incorrect: *حبذه المرأة

2. The Case of the Noun:
The noun following the expression (known as the makhsūs) is grammatically a delayed subject. Therefore, it must take the nominative case (usually ending in a damma).

3. Word Order:
Unlike its synonyms نعم and بئس, the noun being praised must follow حبذا. You cannot place the noun at the beginning of the sentence.

4. Modern Usage (حبذا لو):
In contemporary journalism and formal speech, حبذا لو is frequently used to mean 'It would be good if...' or 'Preferably.' This shifts the meaning from pure praise to a polite suggestion or wish.

Examples (4)

  1. حبذا الإخلاصُ في العملِ.

    How fine is sincerity in work.

    Word by Word: Lovely-this the-sincerity in the-work.

    Here, حبذا is used to praise the concept of 'sincerity' (الإخلاص), which is in the nominative case.

  2. لا حبذا النفاقُ والكذبُ.

    How wretched are hypocrisy and lying.

    Word by Word: Not lovely-this the-hypocrisy and-the-lying.

    لا حبذا is used here to condemn two negative traits. Note that 'ذا' remains singular even though two things are mentioned.

  3. حبذا لو اتخذنا هذا القرارَ مبكراً.

    It would have been better if we had taken this decision earlier.

    Word by Word: Lovely-this if we-took this the-decision early.

    This demonstrates the modern usage of the pattern to express a preference or a suggestion using 'لو'.

  4. حبذا القراءةُ في وقتِ الفراغِ.

    How excellent is reading in free time.

    Word by Word: Lovely-this the-reading in time the-leisure.

    The feminine noun 'القراءة' follows the masculine 'ذا' because the expression is fixed.

Common Mistakes

  • Changing the gender of 'ذا' to match a feminine noun.

    حبذهُ الفكرةُ.
    حبذا الفكرةُ.

    The demonstrative 'ذا' is fixed (mabnī) and never changes to 'ذه' or any other form.

  • Placing the noun before the expression.

    الصدقُ حبذا.
    حبذا الصدقُ.

    In this construction, the noun being praised normally comes after the expression.

  • Using the accusative case for the following noun.

    حبذا العلمَ.
    حبذا العلمُ.

    The noun following حبذا is the subject of the sentence and must be in the nominative case (marfū‘).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

حبذا / لا حبذاLevel 6How Fine and How Wretched

Learn This First

To understand حبذا and لا حبذا, you need to recognize that they are fixed verbal expressions. You should be familiar with the past tense verb structure, the use of the demonstrative 'ذا' (this) which acts as the subject within the phrase, and the fact that the noun following the expression is the subject of praise or blame and must take the nominative case ending.

Words in This Pattern

حبذا