monafis منافس
Moroccan Darija · noun
“monafis” (منافس) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning competitor, rival.
Meanings
- competitor, rival
- opponent (sport, competition)
Usage
Monafis refers to someone who is competing with another: an opposing team, a rival company, a rival candidate. The word comes from Standard Arabic and keeps a careful pronunciation; it is heard mostly in sports commentary, economics and the media, but it is understood and used in conversation. It can also serve as an adjective ("fri9 monafis", a rival team). The feminine is monafisa, the plural monafisin. For a personal rival in a more emotional sense, other expressions in the colloquial register are preferable.
Example
راه منافس كبير هادا
rah monafis kbir hada
“He's a serious competitor, that one.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “monafis” but also “mounafis”, “mnafes” and “monafiss”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “monafis” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “rival, competitor”; “opposing (team, side)”: monafes in Tunisian.