9lil قليل
Algerian Darja · adjective
“9lil” (قليل) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning few, in small quantity.
Meanings
- few, in small quantity
- rare (qlil li…: few are those who)
- a little, slightly
Usage
Qlil describes a small quantity or a small number. It agrees: qlila in the feminine, qlal in the plural, for example drahem qlal ("little money"). The phrase qlil li… corresponds to "few are those who…", and qlil win, or qlil ma, to "rarely". Doubled, qlil qlil means "little by little". To simply say "a little", chwiya is used instead. Qlil is mainly used to pass a judgment on a quantity or a frequency. Depending on the region, the q is pronounced q or g, hence the spellings glil and 9lil.
Example
الخدمة قليلة في هاد الأيام
el khedma qlila f had liyam
“Work is scarce these days.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9lil” but also “qlil”, “glil”, “klil” and “9lile”. 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 “9lil” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “few, in small quantity”; “rarely (9lil fach / 9lil li)”: 9lil in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “little, few”; “slight, weak”: 9lil in Tunisian.