ghenna غنّا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“ghenna” (غنّا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to sing.
Meanings
- to sing
- to sing a song for someone
Usage
Ghenna is the usual verb for "to sing", whether for a professional singer, at a party, or for someone humming at home. In the present it is kayghenni; the imperative is ghenni. One says ghenna chi ghenya, "to sing a song", or ghenna lih, "to sing for him". The word for the artist is mghenni (singer), and singing is lghna. Watch out: in arabizi writing, ghna can also be a spelling of hna, "here".
Example
هاد البنت كتغنّي مزيان
had lbent katghenni mezyan
“This girl sings well.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanghnni | ghnnit | |
| nta (you, m.) | katghnni | ghnniti | ghnni |
| nti (you, f.) | katghnni | ghnniti | ghnni |
| howa (he) | kayghnni | ghnna | |
| hiya (she) | katghnni | ghnnaat | |
| 7na (we) | kanghnniw | ghnnina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katghnniw | ghnnito | ghnniw |
| homa (they) | kayghnniw | ghnnaw |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghenna” but also “ghnna”, “ghanna”, “8enna”, “ghna” and “ghona”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.
Type “ghenna” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to sing”; “to perform a song”: ghenna in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “singing, song, sung music”; “to sing (verb ghanna)”: ghna in Tunisian.