The name
How CAFÉ became CHAFÉ — شفِّة, a sip
- 01
Start with a word the whole world knows.
Café. Four letters, one accent, and a promise of somewhere to sit.
- 02
Add one letter.
Slip an H in after the C. In Lebanon — where French spelling rules — CH is how you write the sound “sh”.
- 03
CH is ش — so its three dots land on top.
The reed-pen dots of the letter sheen sit on the frame, right above the C and the H.
- 04
A shadda doubles the F.
That small “w” is a shadda: hold the consonant a beat longer. Shaf·fé. The accent on the É doubles as its vowel stroke — one mark, two scripts.
- 05
شفِّة — shaffé. A sip.
Beirut’s word for a sip, and for the little handleless cup Lebanese coffee is poured into. As we like to say: CHAFÉ? أكيد شفِّة.
شفِّةshaf·fé/ˈʃaf.fe/noun · Lebanese Arabica sip.
