bnt khali بنت خالي
Moroccan Darija · expression
“bnt khali” (بنت خالي) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning my cousin (maternal uncle's daughter).
Meanings
- my cousin (maternal uncle's daughter)
Usage
Bent khali literally means "my maternal uncle's daughter", khali being the mother's brother. Darija has no generic term for "cousin" and always specifies the family branch. So bent khali must be carefully distinguished from bent khalti (maternal aunt's daughter), which differ only in the final vowel. The possessive varies: bent khalek (your cousin), bent khalo (his cousin). The corresponding masculine is weld khali. In English, it is simply translated as "my cousin".
Example
بنت خالي ساكنة فكازا
bnt khali sakna f casa
“My cousin lives in Casablanca.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bnt khali” but also “bent khali”, “bnt 5ali” and “bent 5ali”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “bnt khali” 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, maternal uncle's daughter”; “cousin, in a loose sense”: bent khali in Tunisian.