9ronfel قرونفل
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9ronfel” (قرونفل) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning clove (spice).
Meanings
- clove (spice)
Usage
The word qronfel means clove, a spice very common in Moroccan cooking. It goes into tajines, ras el hanout, some pastries and sometimes tea. It is used mainly as a collective noun: you say qronfel for the spice in general, without a plural. To speak of a single clove, people often say wa7ed l7ebba dyal qronfel. You buy it at the spice seller's (l3ttar). In traditional practice it is also found in scented blends and folk remedies. Watch the pronunciation: the first sound is an emphatic q, often written 9 in arabizi.
Example
زيد شي قرونفل فالطاجين
zid chi 9ronfel f tajine
“Add a little clove to the tajine.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ronfel” but also “9ronfl”, “qronfel”, “9ronfal”, “qronfl” and “9oronfol”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find قرونفل and قرنفل, all the same word.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.