mawhiba موهبة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mawhiba” (موهبة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning talent, gift.
Meanings
- talent, gift
- talented person
Usage
Mawhiba is borrowed from standard Arabic. It is well integrated into darija, especially when talking about art, sport or music. It is constructed with 3end-: 3endu mawhiba, "he has talent". The field is specified by direct annexation: mawhiba d lmusiqa or mawhiba lmusiqa. The register is neutral, a bit more formal than colloquial expressions like 3endu yed, "he is gifted with his hands". The plural is mawahib. In the language of the media and of competitions, the word also refers to a young talent.
Example
كان عندها موهبة الموسيقى إيلا باقي عاقل
kan 3ndha mawhiba lmosi9a ila ba9i 3a9l
“She had a talent for music, if I remember correctly.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mawhiba” but also “maw8iba”, “mohiba” and “mo8iba”. 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.