bnt 3mi بنت عمي
Moroccan Darija · expression
“bnt 3mi” (بنت عمي) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning my cousin (paternal uncle's daughter).
Meanings
- my cousin (paternal uncle's daughter)
Usage
Bent 3mmi literally means "my paternal uncle's daughter", 3mmi being the father's brother. Darija distinguishes cousins by family branch, and this term differs from bent 3mmti (paternal aunt's daughter) only in its ending. The m is often doubled in speech. The possessive varies: bent 3mmek (your cousin), bent 3mmo (his cousin). The corresponding masculine is weld 3mmi. In English, the natural translation remains "my cousin".
Example
مشيت مع بنت عمي للسوق
mchit m3a bnt 3mmi l sou9
“I went to the market with my cousin.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bnt 3mi” but also “bnt 3mmi”, “bent 3mmi” and “bnt aami”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “bnt 3mi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “my cousin (paternal uncle's daughter)”: bent 3ammi in Tunisian.