bkhour بخور
Tunisian Derja · noun
“bkhour” (بخور) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning incense, burned aromatic substances.
Meanings
- incense, burned aromatic substances
- scenting the house with fumes
Usage
Bkhour refers to the aromatic substances burned on embers, in a small burner (mbakhra), to perfume the house or clothes. It is burned during celebrations, weddings, on Fridays or to welcome guests. Some popular beliefs also attribute a protective role against the evil eye to it. The word is collective and is mostly used without a plural: one says "ch3al bkhour" for "to burn incense". Note: it is a noun. Do not confuse it with a homographic verb form in other languages written in the Arabic alphabet.
Example
ماما شعلت البخور في الدار قبل ما يجيو الضيوف
mama ch3let el bkhour fil dar 9bal ma yjiw edhyouf
“Mum burned incense in the house before the guests arrived.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bkhour” but also “bkhor”, “b5our”, “bkhur” and “bkhoor”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.