9ellel قلّل
Moroccan Darija · verb
“9ellel” (قلّل) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning reduce, cut down.
Meanings
- reduce, cut down
- minus (telling time)
Usage
9ellel means "to decrease, to reduce the quantity of something". It takes a direct object or men: "9ellel men lmel7", "use less salt". It is often heard in the imperative, to give advice or a reproach: "9ellel mn lhadra", "talk less". The proverb "9ellel nassek yerta7 rassek" advises limiting whom you associate with. To tell the time, the form qell, "minus", is mostly used: "tnach qell qsem", "five to twelve". Do not confuse this verb with 9lil, the adjective "little, few".
Example
قلل ناسك يرتاح راسك
9lel nassek yerta7 rassek
“Cut down on the people you spend time with, and your mind will be at rest.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan9ellel | 9ellelt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat9ellel | 9ellelti | 9ellel |
| nti (you, f.) | kat9elleli | 9ellelti | 9elleli |
| howa (he) | kay9ellel | 9ellel | |
| hiya (she) | kat9ellel | 9ellelat | |
| 7na (we) | kan9ellelo | 9ellelna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat9ellelo | 9ellelto | 9ellelo |
| homa (they) | kay9ellelo | 9ellelo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ellel” but also “9allal”, “9lel”, “qellel” and “9ll”. 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 “9ellel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to reduce, to diminish”; “to belittle, disrespect”: 9allel in Tunisian.