ghbina غبينة
Algerian Darja · noun
“ghbina” (غبينة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning deep sorrow, bitterness.
Meanings
- deep sorrow, bitterness
- misery, painful situation
- swallowed sense of injustice
Usage
ghbina expresses a heavy grief that one keeps inside. It is often the feeling of having been wronged or humiliated without being able to react. The word also covers a painful or dismal situation: it's a ghbina, "it's a misery, it's enough to make you cry". It is heard in constructions like mat bel ghbina (to die of sorrow) or ghbina 3liya (I have a heavy heart). It is very present in popular song and raï. This everyday, emotional term is stronger than "sadness".
Example
عندو غبينة كبيرة من واش صرالو
3andou ghbina kbira men wach sralou
“He has great sorrow over what happened to him.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghbina” but also “ghbin” and “3'bina”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.