dyal ديال

Algerian Darja · preposition

“dyal” (ديال) is a preposition in Algerian Darja meaning of, belonging to.

Meanings

1. of, belonging to
2. mine, yours… (with pronoun)

Usage

A possessive particle equivalent to "of" in the sense of belonging: ettomobil dyal khouya (my brother's car). With a pronoun suffix, it gives dyali (mine), dyalek (yours), dyalha (hers). In Algeria it is heard mostly in the West and in some local dialects. Elsewhere, people tend to use ntaʕ or taʕ, which have the same meaning. Because dyal is also strongly associated with Morocco, some speakers from other regions perceive it as Moroccan. It is placed after the definite noun.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dyal” but also “dial”, “diyal” and “dyali”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “dyal” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “of (belonging)”; “belonging to (with suffix)”: dyal in Moroccan.