9anouni قانوني
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“9anouni” (قانوني) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning legal, lawful.
Meanings
- legal, lawful
- legal, relating to law
Usage
Qanouni is the adjective derived from qanoun ("law"). It is used mostly to say whether something is permitted by law or not: machi qanouni, "it's not legal". The feminine is qanouniya and the plural is qanouniyin. It is heard in conversations about administration, work, papers or the police, and in the press. The register is neutral, a little formal, and close to Standard Arabic. Its usual opposite is machi qanouni, rather than the learned adjective ghir qanouni. In colloquial use it is sometimes used figuratively to mean "correct, above board".
Example
هادشي ماشي قانوني، ماتديروش
hadchi machi qanouni, matdirouch
“That's not legal, don't do it.”
Forms
| feminine | 9aanounia |
|---|---|
| plural | 9aanouniyin |
| feminine plural | 9aanouniat |
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 “9anouni” but also “9anoni”, “9aanouni”, “qanouni” and “kanouni”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.