sou2al سؤال
Algerian Darja · noun
“sou2al” (سؤال) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning question.
Meanings
- question
- puzzle, problem to solve
Usage
Sou2al ("question") is borrowed from Standard Arabic but very common in Darja, especially in the phrase "3andi sou2al" ("I have a question"). For the act of asking a question, the verb seqsa / yseqsi ("to ask, to question") is mostly used rather than a verb derived from sou2al. The plural as2ila sounds more formal and is heard at school or in exams. You say "sou2al m7ayyer" for an embarrassing question. Many young people alternate with the French "question", pronounced as is.
Example
عندي سؤال صغير برك
3andi sou2al sghir brk
“I just have a small question.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sou2al” but also “so2al”, “souel”, “soual” and “su2al”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop.
Type “sou2al” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “question, inquiry”; “request for information”: sou2el in Tunisian.