bel3aks بالعكس

Algerian Darja · adverb

“bel3aks” (بالعكس) is an adverb in Algerian Darja meaning on the contrary.

Meanings

1. on the contrary
2. the wrong way round, reversed

Usage

Bel3aks goes at the start of a sentence to contradict or correct what has just been said, exactly like "on the contrary". For example: ma zaʿfetch, bel3aks, fer7et (she didn't get angry, on the contrary, she was happy). It is also used alone as a reply to a politeness: bel3aks ! means "not at all, on the contrary, my pleasure!". In its concrete sense, it means "inside out" or "back to front": lbest t-tricou bel3aks (I put the T-shirt on inside out). The register is neutral and common, in speech as well as in written comments.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bel3aks” but also “bl3aks”, “bil3aks” and “bel3ks”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.

Type “bel3aks” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “on the contrary”; “the other way round, in reverse”: bel3aks in Moroccan.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “on the contrary”; “the wrong way round, conversely”: bel3aks in Tunisian.

How to say “on the contrary” in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian