Why is the number 7 often used in Twitter usernames of Arabic speakers? [duplicate]

Question

I noticed this trend in some data I'm working with and am searching for an explanation.

Hi, I'm a native arabic speaker from egypt. There are some characters and sounds that exist in Arabic and don't have equivalent in English. So, we use numbers to express those characters and sounds. If you need more information about those characters, Watch this video: youtube.com/watch?v=SPOA0sGx9Zo — user2824371, Feb 13, 2016 at 22:23

user6726 · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-13 05:00:50Z

7

7 represents ħ (voiceless pharyngeal fricative). This is referred to as the Arabic Chat alphabet.

answered May 13, 2015 at 5:00

user6726

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fdb · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-13 07:54:15Z

2

It is used for Arabic /ħ/ because "7" vaguely resembles the Arabic letter ح

answered May 13, 2015 at 7:54

fdb

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2 Answers 2