moghenni مغنّي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“moghenni” (مغنّي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning singer, person who sings.
Meanings
- singer, person who sings
- professional singer, performer
Usage
Moghenni means anyone who sings, amateur or professional. The feminine is moghenniya and the plural is moghenniyin. It is used for pop artists on radio or television as well as in family settings ("ana machi moghenni", I'm not a singer). For performers of traditional popular music, chikh or chikha is used instead, with a different connotation. The word is neutral and used in speech and writing alike. The initial vowel varies between speakers (mo-, mou-, mu-), which explains the variety of Latin spellings.
Example
راجلي القديم كان مغني.
rajli l9dim kan moghni.
“My former husband was a singer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “moghenni” but also “moghanni”, “moghni”, “mughanni”, “mou8anni” and “moghnni”. 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 “moghenni” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “singer”: mghanni in Algerian.