2ejjel أجّل
Moroccan Darija · verb
“2ejjel” (أجّل) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning postpone, put off.
Meanings
- postpone, put off
- delay
Usage
2ejjel is the common verb for putting something off until later. It is used for an appointment, a trip or a piece of work as well as for an exam. The typical construction is 2ejjel X l- + time: 2ejjel lmaw3id l ssimana jaya, "postpone the appointment to next week". The passive t2ejjel means "to be postponed". Do not confuse it with the noun ajal, which means "deadline, term" (akhir ajal, "final deadline") and is pronounced without doubling the consonant. In conversation, one also hears khlla l… ("leave for…") with the same meaning.
Example
أجل خدمتك لخدا ماتحسرش راسك
2ajjel 5demtek l5eda mat7enserch rassek
“Put your work off until tomorrow, don't stress yourself.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan2ejjel | 2ejjelt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat2ejjel | 2ejjelti | 2ejjel |
| nti (you, f.) | kat2ejjli | 2ejjelti | 2ejjli |
| howa (he) | kay2ejjel | 2ejjel | |
| hiya (she) | kat2ejjel | 2ejjelat | |
| 7na (we) | kan2ejjlo | 2ejjelna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat2ejjlo | 2ejjelto | 2ejjlo |
| homa (they) | kay2ejjlo | 2ejjelo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “2ejjel” but also “ajjel”, “2ajjal”, “ajjal” and “2jjel”. 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 “2ejjel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to postpone, put off”; “to delay, defer”: ajjel in Algerian.