ma7bous محبوس
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“ma7bous” (محبوس) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning in prison, detained.
Meanings
- in prison, detained
- locked in, stuck somewhere
Usage
Mahbous is the passive participle of the verb 7bes (to imprison, to lock up). It primarily refers to a person in prison: "ma7bous" is used with a duration ("ma7bous 3andou 3am") or a place. It is also used for a person or animal that is shut in and unable to get out, for example stuck in a cage or a room. The word agrees in gender and number: ma7bousa in the feminine, ma7bousin in the plural. As a plural noun, "el ma7bousin" means the prisoners. It is related to "el 7abs", prison. The register is common and neutral.
Example
خوه محبوس عندو عامين
khouh ma7bous 3andou 3amin
“His brother has been in prison for two years.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma7bous” but also “mahbous”, “m7bous”, “ma7bouss” and “mahbouss”. 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.