ch7al faloua9d شحال فالوقت
Algerian Darja · expression
“ch7al faloua9d” (شحال فالوقت) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning what time is it?.
Meanings
- what time is it?
Usage
Ch7al f louqt is used to ask the time: literally, "how much in the time?". It is heard mostly in the west. Elsewhere, people also say ch7al rahi sa3a or ch7al sa3a. It is an everyday question, neutral and polite, that can be asked of a stranger in the street. It often opens with a polite formula such as sme7li ("excuse me"). In the answer, the time is given, often with the numbers in French. Pitfall: ch7al alone means "how much", and this phrase is only for asking the time, not a duration.
Example
سمحلي، شحال فالوقت؟
sme7li, ch7al f louqt?
“Excuse me, what time is it?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “ch7al faloua9d”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.