9alet قالت
Algerian Darja · verb
“9alet” (قالت) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning she said.
Meanings
- she said
- she told, she claimed
Usage
Qalet is the third person feminine singular, past tense, of the verb qal (to say). A pronoun for the person addressed is often added: "qaletli" (she told me), "qaletlou" (she told him). It introduces reported speech, direct or indirect, often with "belli" (that): "qalet belli ma tjich" (she said she wouldn't come). Pronunciation varies: qalet in town, galet in the East and in rural areas, 'alet in some urban speech. These variants are commonly heard and all can be written in arabizi.
Example
ماما قالتلي نجيب الخبز.
mama 9aletli njib el khobz.
“Mum told me to bring bread.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9alet” but also “qalet”, “galet”, “9alt” and “kalet”. 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 “9alet” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “she said”; “she told”: galt in Moroccan.