الحكم هون.

The referee is here.

Breakdown of الحكم هون.

• هون: here
• حكم: the referee

Questions & Answers about الحكم هون.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Levantine Arabic, as in Arabic generally, the present-tense to be is usually omitted.

So الحكم هون literally looks like the-judgment/referee here, but it naturally means The … is here.

This is called a nominal sentence. In the present tense, Arabic normally does not use a separate word for is / am / are.

Compare:

• الحكم هون = The referee/judgment is here
• أنا هون = I am here
• هي هون = She is here

But in the past or future, you do use a verb:

• كان الحكم هون = The referee/judgment was here
• رح يكون الحكم هون = The referee/judgment will be here

What does هون mean, and is it formal or colloquial?

هون means here in Levantine Arabic.

It is the normal everyday spoken form in much of the Levant. In Modern Standard Arabic, you would usually see هنا instead.

So:

• هون = Levantine spoken here
• هنا = more formal / Standard Arabic here

A Levantine speaker would commonly say الحكم هون, not الحكم هنا, in casual speech.

How is هون pronounced?