jahel جاهل
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“jahel” (جاهل) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning wild, aggressive (animal).
Meanings
- wild, aggressive (animal)
- unruly, insolent (person)
- ignorant
Usage
In darija, jahel does not only mean "ignorant". The most frequent sense is "wild, aggressive", especially for an animal that bites or attacks: "lkelb jahel" (the dog is vicious). Applied to a person, particularly a child, it means "unruly, insolent, badly behaved". The sense of "ignorant, uneducated" also exists, but it is closer to Standard Arabic. The feminine is "jahla" and the plural "jahlin". The corresponding noun, "jahl", translates as "viciousness" or "ignorance" depending on context.
Example
راه جاهل هاد الكلب
rah jahel had lkelb
“This dog is vicious.”
Forms
| feminine | ja8ila |
|---|---|
| plural | ja8lin |
| feminine plural | ja8lat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jahel” but also “jahil”, “ja8il”, “jahl” and “jaa8il”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.
Type “jahel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “ignorant, uneducated”; “immature, thoughtless”: jahel in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “ignorant, uneducated”; “thoughtless, immature”: jehel in Tunisian.