boubris بوبريص
Moroccan Darija · noun
“boubris” (بوبريص) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning gecko, wall gecko.
Meanings
- gecko, wall gecko
- small lizard (broad sense)
Usage
Boubris refers to the small nocturnal lizard seen on house walls, especially in summer, near lamps where it hunts insects. The word is common and informal. Many people have a marked fear or disgust of it, and popular beliefs credit it with being harmful, even venomous. The closest English equivalent is "gecko". The term is sometimes used more broadly for any small lizard. The usual plural is bwabris.
Example
كاين بوبريص فالحيط ديال الكوزينة
kayn boubris f l7it dyal lkouzina
“There is a gecko on the kitchen wall.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “boubris” but also “bobris”, “boubriss”, “bobriss” and “bouberris”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.