3a2ila عائلة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3a2ila” (عائلة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning family.
Meanings
- family
- good family, respectable lineage
- household
Usage
3a2ila means family, in both the narrow and the extended sense. The word belongs to a slightly formal register. In everyday conversation, people more often say "l-familya", "l-3a2ila" with the article, or "dar" followed by a name ("dar bba", my father's family). The expression "weld 3a2ila" (feminine "bent 3a2ila") describes a well-raised person from a respectable family. The word is often pronounced "3ayla".
Example
أنا ماعندي عائلة
ana ma3endi 3a2ila
“I don't have a family.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3a2ila” but also “3ayla”, “3aila”, “aila” and “aaila”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find عائلة and عايلة, all the same word.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop; 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3a2ila” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
The same word also exists in Algerian Darja, written عايلة, where it means “family, relatives”; “household, home”: 3ayla in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written عايلة, where it means “family”; “extended family, lineage”: 3ayla in Tunisian.