benna بنة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“benna” (بنة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning good taste, flavor.
Meanings
- good taste, flavor
- charm, appeal
Usage
Benna refers to the flavor of a dish, and most often to its good taste. Of a successful dish one says "fih lbenna", "it has flavor". Conversely, "ma fih benna" means it is bland. The corresponding adjective is bnin, "delicious". Figuratively, the word is also applied to an atmosphere, a song or a pleasant person, meaning they have charm. The word belongs to the informal, everyday register, especially in conversations about cooking.
Example
هاد الطاجين فيه البنة
had tajine fih lbenna
“This tajine tastes really good.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “benna” but also “bnna” and “bena”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “benna” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “flavor, good taste”; “charm, pleasant atmosphere”: benna in Algerian.