gnfoud ڭنفود
Moroccan Darija · noun
“gnfoud” (ڭنفود) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning hedgehog.
Meanings
- hedgehog
Usage
Gnfud means hedgehog. It is a g-pronounced variant of qenfud, which is also common. The animal is seen in the countryside and in gardens, and it appears in traditional tales and remedies. Applied to a person, the word is sometimes used figuratively for someone withdrawn or prickly, but this sense is colloquial and marginal. The plural is qnafed or gnafed.
Example
شفنا ڭنفود فالجردة البارح فالليل
chefna gnfoud f jjerda lbare7 f lil
“We saw a hedgehog in the garden last night.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “gnfoud” but also “ganfoud”, “guenfoud”, “qenfoud” and “9anfoud”. 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.