bddel بدّل
Moroccan Darija · verb
“bddel” (بدّل) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to change, to alter.
Meanings
- to change, to alter
- to replace, to exchange
- to change (clothes)
Usage
Bddel is the common verb for "to change", in all registers. It is transitive: you say bddel lmdrassa ("to change schools"), with no preposition. With b, it means "to exchange for": bddel had lktab b lakhor. With 3lih or 3liha, as in bddel 3lik, it means "to get changed, to put on other clothes". The form tbddel means "to change, to be transformed": tbddel bzzaf ("he has changed a lot"). The corresponding noun is tabdil. Note: in writing, the word is often confused with badil ("alternative").
Example
خويا صغير بدل المدرسة
khouya sghir bdl lmdrassa
“My little brother changed schools.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanbddel | bddelt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katbddel | bddlti | bddel |
| nti (you, f.) | katbddli | bddlti | bddli |
| howa (he) | kaybddel | bddel | |
| hiya (she) | katbddel | bddlat | |
| 7na (we) | kanbddlo | bddlna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katbddlo | bddlto | bddlo |
| homa (they) | kaybddlo | bddlo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bddel” but also “bedel”, “bdel”, “bddal” and “beddel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bddel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “change, alter”; “replace, exchange”: beddel in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to change, replace”; “to exchange, swap”: baddel in Tunisian.