bghel بغل
Moroccan Darija · noun
“bghel” (بغل) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning mule.
Meanings
- mule
- stubborn or dense person
Usage
The word refers to the pack animal, still very present in the mountains and the countryside. The singular is bghel; bghla is used for the female mule, and bghal is the plural. Figuratively, calling someone a bghel means they are stubborn or not very sharp. It is a familiar, rather hurtful jibe, best avoided with strangers. The word also appears in expressions about stubbornness or hard labour: khddam bhal lbghel, "he works like a beast of burden".
Example
طلعو السلعة على البغل
tel3o sel3a 3la lbghel
“They loaded the goods onto the mule.”
Forms
| plural | bghal |
|---|
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bghel” but also “bghl”, “bghal” and “beghl”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bghel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “mule (animal)”; “idiot, stubborn fool (insult)”: bghal in Tunisian.