alaf آلاف
Moroccan Darija · noun
“alaf” (آلاف) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning thousands; thousand (after a number).
Meanings
- thousands; thousand (after a number)
Usage
Alaf is the plural of alf, "thousand". It is used mainly after the numbers three to ten to form thousands: tlata alaf, "three thousand", 3achra alaf, "ten thousand". From eleven on, it goes back to the singular: 7dach alf, "eleven thousand". Used alone, with the article, it means "thousands": lalaf dyal nnas, "thousands of people". When talking about money, people often count in rials rather than dirhams, which multiplies the figures. So always check which unit is being used.
Example
خلّص تلاتة آلاف درهم
khelles tlata alaf derhem
“He paid three thousand dirhams.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “alaf” but also “lalaf” and “alaaf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “alaf” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “thousands”; “thousands of, countless”: alef in Tunisian.