ma7al محل
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ma7al” (محل) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning shop, store.
Meanings
- shop, store
- commercial premises
Usage
Ma7al refers to a shop or commercial premises, often somewhat larger or more modern than a 7anout, the grocery or small neighbourhood store. It is used in expressions such as "7ell ma7al" or "fte7 ma7al", "to open a shop", and "kra ma7al", "to rent premises". The plural is ma7allat. Note that for the corner grocer one almost always says 7anout, not ma7al. The word is neutral and used in all registers.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma7al” but also “m7al”, “mahal”, “ma7all” and “me7al”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “ma7al” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “shop, store”; “commercial premises”: mahal in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “shop, store”; “premises, place”: ma7al in Tunisian.