zal زال
Algerian Darja · verb
“zal” (زال) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning (ma zal) still, yet.
Meanings
- (ma zal) still, yet
- (ma zal ma) not yet
- to disappear, fade away
Usage
In Darja, zal is almost always used in the fixed form mazal (ma zal), which means "still, yet": mazal yekhdem, "he is still working". Followed by a negation, mazal ma… means "not yet": mazal ma kla, "he hasn't eaten yet". It is often conjugated with a pronoun: mazalni, mazalek, mazalou ("I am still, you are still…"). On its own, zal in the sense of "to disappear" belongs mostly to a formal register or to Standard Arabic. Pitfall for an English speaker: mazal is not negative despite the initial ma.
Example
مازال ما جاش، استنّاه شوية
mazal ma jach, stennah chwiya
“He hasn't come yet, wait for him a bit.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “zal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.