dyal ديال
Moroccan Darija · preposition
“dyal” (ديال) is a preposition in Moroccan Darija meaning of (belonging).
Meanings
- of (belonging)
- belonging to (with suffix)
- of (material, kind)
Usage
Dyal is the most common marker of possession in darija. It goes between the thing possessed and the possessor: "tomobil dyal khoya" (my brother's car). It takes personal suffixes: dyali, dyalek, dyalo, dyalha, dyalna, dyalkom, dyalhom. It is also used to indicate material, kind or purpose: "ktab dyal lmat", "mochkil dyal lflous". In some regions it is sometimes made to agree in the feminine (dyalt) or the plural (dyawl). Pitfall: dyal is not a noun, despite what some sources say. It is also used before a noun with the article: "dyal nnas".
Example
فشمال ديال هنا.
f chamal dyal 8na.
“It's north of here.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dyal” but also “dial”, “diyal” and “dyel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “dyal” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “of, belonging to”; “mine, yours… (with pronoun)”: dyal in Algerian.