mizan lma ميزان الما
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mizan lma” (ميزان الما) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning spirit level.
Meanings
- spirit level
- level, plumb
Usage
Mizan l-ma literally means "balance of water". It is the common name for the spirit level used by masons, carpenters and tilers. The word belongs to the vocabulary of building sites and DIY. By extension, a perfectly even surface is said to be 3la mizan l-ma, that is, level. One might think of an instrument that measures water, but it really is the leveling tool.
Example
عطيني ميزان الما نشوف واش الزليج مستاوي
3tini mizan l-ma nchouf wach z-zellij mstawi
“Hand me the level so I can check whether the tiles are even.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mizan lma” but also “mizan l-ma”, “mizan elma” and “mizane lma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.