zbel زبل

Algerian Darja · noun

“zbel” (زبل) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning trash, garbage.

Meanings

1. trash, garbage
2. worthless thing, junk (pejorative)

Usage

Zbel is the ordinary word for household trash and waste: rmi zbel (throw out the trash), kamyou taʿ zbel (garbage truck). The related verb nqa zbel means to pick up or clear away trash. In its figurative, pejorative sense, which is very common, zbel describes whatever is judged worthless: a mediocre film, series, product or service (haja taʿ zbel, a rubbish thing). This sense remains informal and scornful. Applied directly to a person, it becomes an insult, so use it with caution. In Algeria the word does not have the sense of "to insult" that it has in some neighboring regions.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zbel” but also “zbal”, “zebel” and “zbl”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “zbel” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “garbage, household waste”; “worthless thing, junk”: zbel in Moroccan.