bhar بحر
Algerian Darja · noun
“bhar” (بحر) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning sea.
Meanings
- sea
- beach, seaside
Usage
Pronounced "bḥar", most often with the article: "lebḥar". In everyday use it means both the sea and the beach where you go swimming. "Nroḥou lel-bḥar" means "we're going to the beach". In summer the question "rouḥt lel-bḥar?" is very common. The expression "jaw bḥar" describes a seaside holiday atmosphere. Pitfall: everyday speech has no separate word for the beach. "Plage" also exists as a loanword, but "lebḥar" is enough in most cases.
Example
غدوة نروحو للبحر بكري
ghodwa nrouhou lelbhar bekri
“Tomorrow we're going to the beach early.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bhar” but also “b7ar”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “bhar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “sea, seaside”; “ocean, vast expanse”: b7er in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “sea”; “beach, seaside”: b7ar in Tunisian.