m9li مقلي
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“m9li” (مقلي) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning fried, cooked in oil.
Meanings
- fried, cooked in oil
Usage
Passive participle of the verb qla (to fry), used as an adjective for foods cooked in oil: djaj m9li (fried chicken), lbid m9li (fried eggs), l7ut m9li (fried fish). It agrees in the feminine (m9liya) and the plural (m9liyin). It is often contrasted with maslou9 (boiled) and mshwi (grilled). It has no particular figurative sense. It is also used alone, with the article, for fried foods in general: dakshi m9li, "fried stuff".
Example
كاينة ريحت الدجاج مقلي
kayna ri7t ddjaj m9li
“There's a smell of fried chicken.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “m9li” but also “ma9li”, “me9li” and “mqli”. 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 “m9li” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fried”: ma9li in Tunisian.