ghbra غبرة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ghbra” (غبرة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning dust.
Meanings
- dust
- long absence
Usage
Ghebra first means dust, the kind that covers furniture or is raised by the wind: kolchi 3amer b lghebra, "everything is covered in dust". It is also used, often with the article (lghebra), to reproach someone for a long absence. Fin had lghebra ? translates as "where have you been all this time?". This sense is linked to the verb ghber, "to disappear". The tone is familiar and affectionate, never aggressive. The context always shows which of the two senses is meant.
Example
الدار عامرة بالغبرة
dar 3amra b lghebra
“The house is full of dust.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghbra” but also “ghebra”, “ghobra” and “ghabra”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ghbra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “dust”; “powder”: ghabra in Tunisian.