mostahlik مستهلك
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mostahlik” (مستهلك) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning consumer.
Meanings
- consumer
- worn out, used up
Usage
Mostahlik, "consumer", belongs to the vocabulary of economics, the media and debates about prices: l-mostahlik l-maghribi, the Moroccan consumer. In colloquial speech, the form msthlek, often written with a different accent, serves as an adjective for a worn-out object or an exhausted person. For example, tomobil msthelka, a worn-out car. These two registers should be kept apart. The plural of the noun is mostahlikin. The verb sthlek means to consume, wear out or exhaust.
Example
المستهلك هو اللي كيخلص الغلا ديما
l-mostahlik howa lli kaykhelles l-ghla dima
“It's always the consumer who pays for the price rises.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mostahlik” but also “mosthlik”, “msthlek” and “mustahlik”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.