bnaya بناية

Moroccan Darija · noun

“bnaya” (بناية) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning masons (plural of bennay).

Meanings

1. masons (plural of bennay)
2. building, structure (formal)

Usage

In everyday usage, bnaya is the plural of bennay and so means masons, or more broadly construction workers. When looking for craftsmen for a building job, people speak of "bnaya me3qoulin", serious masons. The sense of "building" or "structure" comes from Standard Arabic binaya. It is found in a formal or administrative register. For an apartment building, 3imara is used instead in conversation. Context tells you which of the two senses is meant.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bnaya” but also “binaya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “bnaya” on the Arabic keyboard