bal بال
Moroccan Darija · noun
“bal” (بال) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning mind, attention, thought.
Meanings
- mind, attention, thought
- to be aware, in the know
- bale of second-hand clothes
Usage
Bal means "mind" or "attention", almost always with a possessive or a preposition. You say "ja f bali" (it came to my mind), "3ndak balek" (be careful) and "khlli f balek" (keep it in mind). "3la bal" or "3la balek" means "aware": "kun 3la bal" (be aware, consider yourself warned), "wach 3la balek?" (are you aware of it?). A separate sense, borrowed from French "balle", refers to bales of second-hand clothing. "Shab lbal" are thus the second-hand clothes dealers and "lbal" the second-hand clothes trade.
Example
كون على بال
kon 3la bal
“Be warned! / Watch out!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bal” but also “bali”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bal” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “mind, thought”; “attention”: bal in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “mind, attention”; “maybe (balek)”: bel in Tunisian.