3neb عنب
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3neb” (عنب) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning grapes (fresh fruit).
Meanings
- grapes (fresh fruit)
Usage
3neb means fresh grapes. It is a collective noun: you say 3neb for grapes in general and 3enba for a single grape. Raisins are zbib, a separate word. Grapes are bought by the kilo at the market, often in late summer. The word appears in the common expression tleb slla bla 3neb, literally "to ask for the basket without the grapes": you give up any gain and only want to get out of a matter without trouble. Note that the verb form 3enneb, which you come across online, has a completely different meaning and is not the name of the fruit.
Example
شريت كيلو ديال العنب من السوق
chrit kilo dyal l3neb mn souk
“I bought a kilo of grapes at the market.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3neb” but also “3nb”, “3enb” and “3anb”. 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.
Type “3neb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “grapes”: 3neb in Tunisian.