mel7 ملح
Algerian Darja · noun
“mel7” (ملح) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning salt.
Meanings
- salt
- spice; what gives flavor
Usage
Mel7 first means cooking salt: "zid chwiya mel7" ("add a little salt"). Figuratively, as in English, it is what gives flavor to a story, a series or an atmosphere. Sharing bread and salt ("el khobz wel mel7") evokes the bond of loyalty between people who have eaten together. Betraying someone after that is frowned upon. The derived adjective mal7, "salty", is also used for an excessive price. Do not confuse mel7 with mli7 ("good, fine"), which looks similar in writing.
Example
الشربة ناقصة ملح.
echorba na9sa mel7.
“The chorba needs salt.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mel7” but also “melh”, “mal7” and “malh”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “mel7” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “salt”: mel7 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “salt”; “bond of hospitality (bread and salt)”: mel7 in Tunisian.