3anif عنيف
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“3anif” (عنيف) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning violent.
Meanings
- violent
- brutal, harsh
Usage
3anif describes a violent person, act or film. Its feminine is 3anifa. The word comes from Standard Arabic and is used mainly in a neutral register or in the media. In everyday speech, more colorful expressions are often preferred to describe someone brutal. For example, people say qasa7 (hard) or kaydreb bzzaf (he hits a lot). 3anif is also heard for a very rough match or collision.
Example
هاد الفيلم عنيف بزاف
had lfilm 3anif bzzaf
“This film is very violent.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3anif” but also “3aniif” and “3nif”. 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.