awwel أوّل
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“awwel” (أوّل) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning first.
Meanings
- first
- the beginning, at first
Usage
Awwel is placed before a noun without an article and does not agree: awwel merra ("the first time"), awwel nhar ("the first day"). After a definite noun, the form lewwel is used instead, which takes the feminine lewla: nhar lewwel, l-merra lewla. Used alone, f lewwel means "at the beginning, first of all". The word is also used for rankings: jani lewwel ("he arrived first").
Example
أول مرة نشوفك
awwel merra nchofek
“It's the first time I've seen you.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “awwel” but also “awel”, “awal”, “awwal” and “awl”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “awwel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “first”; “beginning (mel awwel: from the start)”: awel in Tunisian.