galou قالوا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“galou” (قالوا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning they said.
Meanings
- they said
- they say (rumor)
Usage
Galou is the third person plural, past tense, of the verb gal (to say). In darija this form serves for both masculine and feminine. It is also used impersonally to report a rumor or hearsay: "galou bli…" (they say that…, apparently…). The person addressed is introduced with l-: "galou liya" (they told me). In writing, the final alif of the Arabic spelling is not pronounced. Depending on the region, it is also pronounced 9alou or qalou.
Example
قالوا ليا غادي يجيو غدّا
galou liya ghadi yjiw ghedda
“They told me they would come tomorrow.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “galou” but also “9alou” and “qalou”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
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 “galou” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “they said”; “it is said, apparently”: galou in Algerian.