fi batel في باطل
Algerian Darja · expression
“fi batel” (في باطل) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning for free, at no cost.
Meanings
- for free, at no cost
- in vain, pointlessly
Usage
Fi batel, often shortened to f batel or b batel, first means "for free", without paying. For example, khdemt fi batel means "I worked without being paid". Depending on context, the expression can also mean "in vain", for something that served no purpose, or even "for no reason" when speaking of an injustice. It is common in all spoken registers. The pitfall is not to confuse it with batel in the sense of "false" or "unjust" in Standard Arabic: here, the central idea is the absence of anything in return.
Example
عطاهولي في باطل، ما خلصتش عليه
3tahouli fi batel, ma khallasstch 3lih
“He gave it to me for free, I didn't pay for it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fi batel” but also “fi ba6el” and “fi ba6al”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 6 is emphatic ta (ط).