gal قال
Moroccan Darija · verb
“gal” (قال) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to say.
Meanings
- to say
- to tell, report
Usage
Gal (or 9al) is the usual verb for "to say". The pronunciation with g is the majority one across much of the country, while the one with q or ʔ is heard in certain cities, among other places. The imperfect is "ygoul" and the imperative is "goul". To say something to someone, the preposition l- is used: "gal liya" (he told me), "gal lik" (he told you). To introduce indirect speech, "bli" is often used: "gal bli ghadi yji" (he said that he would come). "Gal 3la" means "to speak ill of someone" or "to talk about them".
Example
اشنو قال ليك
achno gal lik
“What did he say to you?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “gal” but also “9al”, “qal”, “kal”, “gale” and “gaal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find قال and ڭال, all the same word.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “gal” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to say”; “to tell, report what was said”: 9al in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to say”; “to tell, to report”: 9al in Tunisian.