bre9 برق
Moroccan Darija · noun
“bre9” (برق) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning lightning (during a storm).
Meanings
- lightning (during a storm)
- to flash, to shine (verb)
Usage
As a noun, lbre9 means the lightning that comes with a storm. It is often paired with thunder, rra3d, in the expression rra3d w lbre9. The word is used with the article and serves to talk about the weather or to express fear of storms. The same root gives a verb meaning to shine or to flash. In the expression bre9 3inih, it means to open one's eyes wide, from surprise or to threaten. Context makes it easy to tell the noun from the verb. Latin spelling varies a lot between several forms.
Example
البارح كان البرق والرعد طول الليل
lbare7 kan lbre9 w rra3d Tol lil
“Last night there was lightning and thunder all night long.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bre9” but also “bra9”, “berq” and “bar9”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.