3adala عضلة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3adala” (عضلة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning muscle.
Meanings
- muscle
Usage
The word 3aDala, "muscle", is borrowed from Standard Arabic, but it is commonly used in conversation, especially about sport, bodybuilding or health. The plural 3aDalat is frequent, for example in fih l3aDalat, "he is muscular". In sport, many speakers also use the French word "muscle" or "muscles", and switching between the two is natural. For muscle pain, people readily say 3ndi tqbiDa f l3aDala, "I have a cramp in the muscle".
Example
كيدير الرياضة باش يكبّر العضلات
kaydir riyaDa bach ykebber l3aDalat
“He works out to build up his muscles.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3adala” but also “3adla”. 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.