mdellel مدلل
Algerian Darja · adjective
“mdellel” (مدلل) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning spoiled, pampered (child).
Meanings
- spoiled, pampered (child)
- demanding, used to getting everything
Usage
Said mainly of a child who is allowed everything, but also of an adult used to comfort who handles the slightest annoyance badly. The tone is often mocking or slightly disapproving: "wlid mdellel", "bent mdellla". The feminine is "mdellla". A very common synonym in Darja is "fchouch" (or "mfechech"), which is more colloquial. The corresponding verb, "dellel", means "to spoil, to pamper": "dellelha bezzaf", "he spoiled her too much". Note that the word can be affectionate depending on the intonation.
Example
هاد الطفل مدلل، كلش يديرولو واش يحب
had tfol mdellel, kolch ydiroulou wach y7eb
“This child is spoiled, they do everything he wants for him.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mdellel” but also “mdalal”, “mdelel”, “mdallal” and “mdlel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mdellel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “spoiled, pampered”; “coddled, used to comfort”: mdallel in Tunisian.