bhewa بهاوة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“bhewa” (بهاوة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning beauty, charm.
Meanings
- beauty, charm
- kindness, goodness
Usage
Noun formed from "bhi" (beautiful, good, kind). It refers to beauty, but very often to a moral quality: kindness, good character, what makes someone pleasant. The typical phrase is "bhewt rou7ou" (the beauty of his soul, his kindness). The word belongs to the affectionate, familiar register and is readily used as a compliment. Pitfall for an English speaker: systematically translating it as "beauty" loses the nuance of kindness, which often dominates depending on context. Before a complement, the final "a" becomes "t" (bhewt).
Example
يعجبني فيها بهاوة روحها.
ya3jebni fiha bhewt rou7ha.
“What I like about her is her kindness.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bhewa” but also “bhawa”, “behwa”, “bhéwa” and “bhewet”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.