ma3labalich ماعلاباليش
Algerian Darja · expression
“ma3labalich” (ماعلاباليش) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning I don't know.
Meanings
- I don't know
- I'm not aware
Usage
Ma3labalich is the negation of 3labali ("I know"). The construction is ma + 3la bali + ch, literally "it is not on my mind". It is the most common way of saying "I don't know" in Algeria. It is familiar and used in all everyday situations. For other persons, the pronoun changes: ma3labalekch ("you don't know"), ma3labalouch ("he doesn't know"). The expression combines with a question word or with b: ma3labalich 3lach ("I don't know why"), ma3labalich bih ("I wasn't aware of it"). Do not confuse it with ma3reftch, which means rather "I don't know (someone or something)".
Example
ماعلاباليش وين راه، ما عيّطش ليا.
ma3labalich win rah, ma 3ayyetch liya.
“I don't know where he is, he didn't call me.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma3labalich” but also “ma3lablich”, “m3labalich”, “ma3lbalich” and “ma3labalech”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.