39li عقلي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“39li” (عقلي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning my mind, my head.
Meanings
- my mind, my head
- mental, intellectual (formal register)
Usage
In spoken usage, 3e9li is mainly the possessed form of 39el: "my mind, my head". It is heard in common expressions. "Fin kan 3e9li?" means "where was my head?". "3e9li sghir" means "I was immature". As for "khoudni 3la 9ed 3e9li", it means "go easy on me, be understanding". The adjective "mental" (3aqli) belongs more to the formal register, that of the media or medicine. It is found for example in "mard 3aqli", mental illness. The pitfall is to take this word for an adjective in ordinary sentences, when it is almost always the noun with the suffix -i.
Example
فين كان عقلي؟
fin kan 3e9li?
“Where was my head?”
Forms
| feminine | 39lia |
|---|---|
| plural | 39liyin |
| feminine plural | 39liat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “39li” but also “3e9li”, “3a9li”, “3qli” and “39ly”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.