ch7al شحال
Algerian Darja · adverb
“ch7al” (شحال) is an adverb in Algerian Darja meaning how much, how many.
Meanings
- how much, how many
- how (much)! (exclamative)
Usage
Chhal is used to ask a quantity or a price: chhal hadi?, "how much is this?", chhal men wahed?, "how many people?". With a time reference, it asks about duration: chhal hadi ma choftek, "it's been a long time since I saw you". It also has a very frequent exclamative use, which can surprise learners: chhal nhabb el couscous!, "how I love couscous!". It combines with men before a counted noun. The word is common throughout Algeria, in speech as well as in online writing.
Example
شحال هاد السروال؟
chhal had sserwal ?
“How much are these trousers?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ch7al” but also “chehal” and “cha7al”. 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.
Type “ch7al” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “how much, how many”; “how long”: ch7al in Moroccan.