golna قلنا
Algerian Darja · verb
“golna” (قلنا) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning we said.
Meanings
- we said
- we thought, we told ourselves
Usage
Golna is the "we" past form of the verb gal (to say). It is very frequent in spoken storytelling. It is used to report what we said (golna lih: we told him). It is also used in the sense of "we told ourselves", i.e. "we decided, we thought": golna nrouhou, "we thought we'd go". As throughout the Maghreb, "we" often serves as a modest or collective "I". Pronunciation varies by region: golna, qolna, or 'olna in some cities.
Example
قلنا نروحو للبحر غدوة
golna nrouhou lel bhar ghodwa
“We thought we'd go to the sea tomorrow.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “golna” but also “gelna”, “9olna”, “qolna” and “galna”. 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 “golna” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “we said”: glna in Moroccan.