9endil قنديل
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9endil” (قنديل) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning oil lamp, night light.
Meanings
- oil lamp, night light
- lantern, chandelier
Usage
9endil means the traditional oil lamp, and by extension a lantern or hanging light fixture, such as those in mosques. The plural is 9nadel. The word evokes an object from the past: today, for ordinary lighting, people say "bola" (bulb) or "dow" (light). It remains alive in handicraft decoration and in certain proverbs. Do not confuse it with "chem3a", the candle. The word is understood everywhere. Its everyday use is mostly limited to traditional objects.
Example
شعلات القنديل حيت طفا الضو
ch3lat l9endil 7it tfa dow
“She lit the oil lamp because the power went out.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9endil” but also “9ndil”, “9andil” and “qendil”. 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 “9endil” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “oil lamp, lantern”; “chandelier, hanging lamp”: qandil in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “oil lamp, lantern”; “jellyfish (9andil lebhar)”: 9andil in Tunisian.