feddel فضل
Algerian Darja · verb
“feddel” (فضل) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to prefer.
Meanings
- to prefer
- to favour someone
Usage
The verb feḍḍel is used mainly to express a preference: nfeḍḍel l'atay 3la l'qahwa, "I prefer tea to coffee". The second term of the comparison is introduced by 3la. The verb can also be followed by another verb: nfeḍḍel nqo3od, "I prefer to stay". In the sense of "to favour", it is mostly used to reproach an injustice, for example a parent who favours one of their children. Note: in texts, the Arabic spelling فضل often corresponds to the given name Fadl or the noun faḍl, "merit, favour", and not to the verb.
Example
نفضّل نخدم في الليل على النهار
nfeddel nekhdem fel lil 3la n'har
“I prefer working at night rather than during the day.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “feddel” but also “fadel”, “faddel” and “fedel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “feddel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to prefer one thing to another”; “to favor someone, show favoritism”: fddel in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “favor, grace (often divine)”; “merit, credit owed to someone”: fadhl in Tunisian.