9aleb قالب

Algerian Darja · noun

“9aleb” (قالب) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning trap, setup, scam.

Meanings

1. trap, setup, scam
2. pretense, staged act
3. mould

Usage

Figuratively, 9aleb refers to a maneuver prepared to deceive someone: a trap, a scheme or a fixed match. It is used mostly with dar (to make/do): "dar 9aleb", "dayer 9aleb" (he has set something up), and often to denounce hypocrisy or a self-serving act. The related verb is y9oulbek (he cheats you, he sets you up). The plural is 9walab. The concrete sense of "mould" (for cooking or construction) also exists. Note: this word does not mean "template" or "model" in the abstract sense.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9aleb” but also “9alb”, “kaleb”, “galeb” and “9alab”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.

Type “9aleb” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “mold (cooking, construction)”; “form, framework”: 9aleb in Tunisian.