kbayli قبايلي
Algerian Darja · adjective
“kbayli” (قبايلي) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning Kabyle (person, language).
Meanings
- Kabyle (person, language)
- from Kabylia
Usage
Qbayli refers to a person from Kabylia, or anything related to it. The word is used as a noun ("houwa qbayli", "he is Kabyle") or as an adjective. It agrees in gender and number: qbayliya in the feminine, qbayel in the plural. It also refers to the language: "yahder bel qbayliya", "he speaks Kabyle". The term is neutral and common, and Kabyles themselves use it in darja. Like other regional words (chaoui, mzabi), however, it can show up in jokes or stereotypes: context matters.
Example
صاحبي قبايلي، من تيزي وزو.
sahbi qbayli, men Tizi Ouzou.
“My friend is Kabyle, he's from Tizi Ouzou.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kbayli” but also “qbayli”, “9bayli”, “kabayli” and “gbayli”. 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.