beznas بزناس
Moroccan Darija · noun
“beznas” (بزناس) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning dealer, drug seller.
Meanings
- dealer, drug seller
- hustler, wheeler-dealer
Usage
Beznas refers to a drug seller, particularly of hashish or pills, who operates in a neighbourhood. It is an informal term, very present in conversations, crime news and rap. The plural is beznasa. By extension, the word can refer to someone who lives off schemes. Pitfall: despite the resemblance to English "business", beznas does not mean "businessman". Calling someone beznas amounts to accusing them of trafficking. The associated verb, kaybeznes, means "he deals".
Example
لقاو عندنا بزناسّ ف درب
l9aw 3ndna beznass f derb
“They found a dealer at our place, in the neighbourhood.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “beznas” but also “beznass”, “bznas”, “bznass” and “biznas”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “beznas” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “drug dealer”; “shady trafficker, hustler”: bazness in Tunisian.