bhima بهيمة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“bhima” (بهيمة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning beast, domestic animal.
Meanings
- beast, domestic animal
- brute, idiot (pejorative)
Usage
Bhima refers to an animal, especially livestock or a beast of burden: cow, donkey, mule. The plural is bhayem. In rural areas, it is the neutral word for animals. Applied to a person, it becomes a fairly strong insult: someone stupid, uncouth, or who acts without thinking. It should therefore be avoided when talking about people, except among close friends and in a joking tone. For a pet, people say 7ayawan instead, or use the specific name of the animal.
Example
البهيمة مربوطة حدا الدار.
lbhima merbouta 7da ddar
“The animal is tied up near the house.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bhima” but also “b8ima” and “behima”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.
Type “bhima” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “beast, domestic animal”; “fool, idiot (mild insult)”: bhima in Tunisian.