bnin بنين
Algerian Darja · adjective
“bnin” (بنين) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning delicious, tasty.
Meanings
- delicious, tasty
- nice, pleasant (informal)
Usage
Bnin is the usual adjective for saying a dish tastes good. It is heard in many regions of Algeria: had el makla bnina, "this dish is delicious". It can be used alone as an exclamation (bnin!) or strengthened with bezzaf, "very". The feminine is bnina and the plural is bninin. In an informal register, it is also used for a pleasant, likeable or cute person or thing. The first sense remains the one about taste. Not to be confused with "bnin" meaning "boys" in Standard Arabic.
Example
الشربة تاعك بنينة بزاف
chorba ta3ek bnina bezzaf
“Your chorba is really delicious.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bnin” but also “bneen”, “bnine” and “bnina”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bnin” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “delicious, tasty (food)”: bnin in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “delicious, tasty”; “nice, pleasant”: bnin in Tunisian.