bennay بناي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“bennay” (بناي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning mason, bricklayer.
Meanings
- mason, bricklayer
Usage
Bennay means the mason, the craftsman who builds walls and constructs houses. He is called in for any job, from a small repair to a full construction. The plural is bnaya. The word comes from the verb bna, "to build". It is distinguished from the "m3allem", the master craftsman or site foreman, and from the "tcharon", the mason's assistant or labourer. The word is neutral and common. It should not be confused with bannaa2, "constructive", which belongs to standard Arabic.
Example
جبنا البناي يصاوب الحيط
jbna lbennay ysawb l7it
“We brought in the mason to fix the wall.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bennay” but also “bannay”, “bnay” and “bennai”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bennay” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “mason, bricklayer”; “construction worker”: bannay in Tunisian.