hadjala هجالة
Algerian Darja · noun
“hadjala” (هجالة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning widow.
Meanings
- widow
- divorced woman, woman without a husband
Usage
Hadjala means a widow, and more broadly a woman who lives without a husband, including a divorced woman. The plural is hadjalat. The masculine hadjal, "widower", exists but is much less common. The word is in everyday use and understood everywhere in Algeria. Depending on the tone, it can carry a pejorative or stigmatizing nuance, because a woman on her own is often subject to social judgment. Pitfall: the word does not always say whether the husband has died or the couple has separated; context settles it. To be unambiguous, say mat rajelha ("her husband died").
Example
من بعد ما مات راجلها، قعدت هجالة وربات ولادها
men ba3d ma mat rajelha, 9a3det hadjala w rabbat wladha
“After her husband died, she remained a widow and raised her children.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hadjala” but also “hajjala”, “hadjela” and “hajala”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “hadjala” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “widow”; “divorced woman, woman living alone”: hajjala in Tunisian.