chellal شلّال
Moroccan Darija · noun
“chellal” (شلّال) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning waterfall, cascade.
Meanings
- waterfall, cascade
Usage
Chellal means a waterfall or cascade. It is often used for natural sites visited on excursions in the Middle and High Atlas. The word is masculine: chellal zwin, "a beautiful waterfall." The plural is chlalel. It is used in all registers. Do not confuse it with chalal (without the doubled consonant), a medical term meaning "paralysis": chalal nisfi means "hemiplegia." The two words look very similar when written in Latin letters.
Example
هاد شلال زوين
had chellal zwin
“This waterfall is beautiful.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chellal” but also “chllal”, “challal” and “shellal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.