batal بطل

Moroccan Darija · noun

“batal” (بطل) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning champion (sport).

Meanings

1. champion (sport)
2. hero

Usage

The word baṭal is used mainly in sport: "baṭal l-3alam" (world champion), "baṭal l-Maghrib" (champion of Morocco). It also means a hero, such as the hero of a film or a brave person; it is often said as praise, for example "nta baṭal!". The feminine is baṭala, and the plural is abṭal. Do not confuse it with baṭel, "false, unjust". The expression "itaya7 3lina chi baṭel" means "may we be wrongly accused". Do not confuse it either with the verb beṭṭel, "to stop, to cancel".

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “batal” but also “batl”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “batal” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to stop an activity”; “to give up (school, work)”: battel in Tunisian.