n7la نحلة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“n7la” (نحلة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning bee.
Meanings
- bee
Usage
N7la means the bee, the insect that produces honey (l3sel). The word is feminine and is used in all registers. The collective plural is n7el, "bees": for example, "l3sel dyal n7el" refers to natural honey, as opposed to industrial honey. The n7la is also used as an image for a hard-working, active person. For a sting, people say "qers'atni n7la" or "9erSatni n7la", "a bee stung me". Don't confuse this word with nakhla (palm tree): the two look alike in arabizi.
Example
قرصاتني نحلة فيدي
9erSatni n7la f yddi
“A bee stung me on my hand.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “n7la” but also “na7la”, “ne7la”, “nahla” and “nhla”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “n7la” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “bee”: na7la in Tunisian.