qbalt قبالة
Moroccan Darija · preposition
“qbalt” (قبالة) is a preposition in Moroccan Darija meaning opposite, facing.
Meanings
- opposite, facing
- in front of, in the presence of
Usage
Qbala is used to place a thing or person facing another. Before a noun or a pronoun, the final t is pronounced: qbalt d-dar (opposite the house), qbalti (opposite me), qbaltek (opposite you). The word stresses the face-to-face position, whereas qoddam, which is more common, simply means "in front of". It is widely used to give directions or locations: a shop, a café or a stop that is on the other side of a landmark. Qbala is more precise for saying "opposite".
Example
الحانوت قبالة الجامع
l7anout qbalt jame3
“The shop is opposite the mosque.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “qbalt” but also “9balt”, “qbala”, “9bala” and “kbalt”. 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 “qbalt” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “opposite, facing”; “openly, frankly, bluntly”: gbala in Algerian.