tfel تفل
Algerian Darja · verb
“tfel” (تفل) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to spit.
Meanings
- to spit
- to spit on someone, to scorn
Usage
Tfel is the common verb for "to spit" in darja. It is conjugated in the past (tfel, tfelt) and the present (yetfel, tetfel). The person or thing targeted takes the preposition 3la: tfel 3lih, "he spat on him". Figuratively, the expression marks strong contempt for someone or something, which makes it offensive if addressed to a person. The corresponding noun, tfal, means spit or saliva. Note: in writing, the same Arabic spelling can also be a typo for the Standard Arabic verb "to do".
Example
ما تتفلش فالطريق، عيب
ma tetfelch fe triq, 3ib
“Don't spit in the street, it's shameful.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tfel” but also “tfal”, “tefel” and “tfl”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “tfel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to spit”: tfel in Moroccan.