rojla رجلة
Algerian Darja · noun
“rojla” (رجلة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning manliness, manly qualities.
Meanings
- manliness, manly qualities
- courage, bravery
- honour, sense of duty
Usage
Rojla refers to the whole set of qualities expected of a man in Algerian society: courage, keeping one's word, a sense of honour, the ability to defend one's own. One says someone has rojla (fih rojla) or lacks it (makanch fih rojla). The word is often used to judge behaviour, notably in politics or in a conflict. It appears in a well-known proverb about someone who, having lacked courage, makes up for it with words. Common register, carrying strong moral weight.
Example
وقف معاه في الشدة، هادي هي الرجلة.
wqef m3ah f ech-chedda, hadi hiya rojla.
“He stood by him in hard times, that's what being a man is.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rojla” but also “rodjla”, “redjla”, “rjla” and “rejla”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “rojla” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “manhood, manly qualities”; “courage, sense of honor”: rejla in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “manliness, dignified male conduct”; “courage, honor”: rojla in Tunisian.