ghiyyer غيّر
Moroccan Darija · verb
“ghiyyer” (غيّر) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to change, to alter.
Meanings
- to change, to alter
- to change clothes
Usage
Ghiyyer, with a doubled consonant, means "to change, to alter": ghiyyer lblasa ("to change place"), ghiyyer rayk ("to change your mind"). Used on its own, it often means "to change clothes" (ghiyyer 7wayjek). The passive or reflexive tghiyyer means "to change, to evolve": tghiyyer bzzaf ("he has changed a lot"). Major pitfall: the same Arabic spelling is used to write ghir, "only, just", an extremely frequent word (ghir chwiya, "just a little"). The doubled consonant and the verbal context identify ghiyyer.
Example
غيّر حوايجك وأجي ناكلو
ghiyyer 7wayjek w aji naklo
“Change your clothes and come eat.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanghiyyer | ghiyyert | |
| nta (you, m.) | katghiyyer | ghiyyerti | ghiyyer |
| nti (you, f.) | katghiyyri | ghiyyerti | ghiyyri |
| howa (he) | kayghiyyer | ghiyyer | |
| hiya (she) | katghiyyer | ghiyyrat | |
| 7na (we) | kanghiyyro | ghiyyrna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katghiyyro | ghiyyrto | ghiyyro |
| homa (they) | kayghiyyro | ghiyyro |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghiyyer” but also “ghayyer”, “ghyyer”, “ghayer”, “ghiyer” and “ghir”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ghiyyer” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “only, just”; “except, apart from”: ghir in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “without (men ghir)”; “except, apart from, only”: ghir in Tunisian.