9bel قبل
Moroccan Darija · preposition
“9bel” (قبل) is a preposition in Moroccan Darija meaning before (time).
Meanings
- before (time)
- previously, before that
- to accept
Usage
Qbel first means "before". It is used before a noun (qbel lftour, "before lunch") or before a clause with ma: qbel ma nemchi, "before I leave". On its own it means "previously": kont kankhdem temma qbel, "I used to work there before". The same form is also a verb, qbel, "to accept"; its present is kayqbel, as in ma qbelch, "he did not accept". Only context distinguishes these two uses. The opposite of "before" is men be3d, "after".
Example
غسل يديك قبل ما تاكل
ghsel yeddik 9bel matakol
“Wash your hands before you eat.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan9bl | 9blt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat9bl | 9blti | 9bl |
| nti (you, f.) | kat9bli | 9blti | 9bli |
| howa (he) | kay9bl | 9bl | |
| hiya (she) | kat9bl | 9blat | |
| 7na (we) | kan9blo | 9blna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat9blo | 9blto | 9blo |
| homa (they) | kay9blo | 9blo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9bel” but also “9bl”, “qbel”, “9bal” and “9abl”. 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.
Type “9bel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “before (in time)”; “to accept, agree”: qbel in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “before”; “previously, before (adverb)”: 9bal in Tunisian.