3inaya عناية
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3inaya” (عناية) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning care, attention given to someone.
Meanings
- care, attention given to someone
- protection, solicitude
Usage
3inaya comes from Standard Arabic and is well integrated into darija in a somewhat formal or technical register. It appears in set expressions: l3inaya lmoraqaza (intensive care in hospital), b3inaya (with care), or in connection with beauty products (l3inaya b lbachra, skin care). In casual conversation, "to take care of someone" is often expressed with verbal phrases such as thella f or dar balo 3la. The word therefore keeps a slightly formal tone, close to the French "soin" in a medical or commercial context.
Example
خاص هاد الدراري عناية كثر
khass had drari 3inaya ktar
“These children need more care.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3inaya” but also “3inaia”, “inaya” and “3inaiya”. 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.