ghorbal غربال
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ghorbal” (غربال) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning sieve, sifter.
Meanings
- sieve, sifter
Usage
Ghorbal refers to the sieve or sifter: a wooden or metal ring stretched with fine mesh. It is used in the kitchen for flour and semolina, notably to prepare couscous or bread. There are versions with finer or coarser mesh. The usual plural is ghrabel. The related verb is gherbel, "to sift", as in gherbel ddqiq, "to sift the flour". This verb is also used figuratively, meaning "to sort" or "to screen". It is a word of household life, understood everywhere in Morocco.
Example
جيبي الغربال نغربلو الدقيق
jibi lghorbal ngherblu ddqiq
“Bring the sieve, we're going to sift the flour.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghorbal” but also “ghrbal”, “gherbal” and “ghourbal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ghorbal” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “sieve, sifter”; “coarse sieve (grains, semolina)”: ghorbel in Tunisian.