gbala قبالة
Algerian Darja · adverb
“gbala” (قبالة) is an adverb in Algerian Darja meaning opposite, facing.
Meanings
- opposite, facing
- openly, frankly, bluntly
Usage
Gbala, pronounced with a hard g, means "opposite". It is used on its own ("dar gbala", "the house opposite") or followed by a noun ("gbala dari", "opposite my house"). Figuratively, it means "openly, frankly, bluntly". For example, "ygoulha gbala" means "he says it to her face". It is also used for "directly" or "outright". The word is common throughout the colloquial register. It should not be confused with qbel, "before".
Example
الحانوت راه قبالة الجامع.
el 7anout rah gbala el jame3.
“The shop is opposite the mosque.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “gbala” but also “9bala”, “qbala”, “gabala” and “kbala”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “gbala” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “opposite, facing”; “in front of, in the presence of”: qbalt in Moroccan.