khobz خبز
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khobz” (خبز) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning bread.
Meanings
- bread
- livelihood, means of subsistence
Usage
Khobz is bread in general, as a substance: bghit lkhobz (I want some bread). For a particular loaf, a round one, khobza is used. Bread is an almost sacred food in Morocco. It is not thrown away, and a piece that has fallen on the ground is picked up. Figuratively, khobz means livelihood: 9ta3 lih lkhobz (he cost him his livelihood). The word appears in the names of dishes, such as khobz chhima, a flatbread stuffed with fat.
Example
أرا ليا خبز
ara liya khobz
“Give me some bread.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khobz” but also “5obz”, “khoubz”, “khbz” and “khubz”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khobz” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “bread”; “livelihood, daily bread”: khobz in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “bread”; “livelihood, daily bread”: 5obz in Tunisian.