radd lbal رادّ لبال
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“radd lbal” (رادّ لبال) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning attentive, vigilant.
Meanings
- attentive, vigilant
- cautious, on one's guard
Usage
Radd lbal literally means "one who pays attention". It is used for someone who is careful and stays vigilant. Most often the expression takes a possessive: radd balek, radd bali. It is heard mainly in warnings: kun radd balek, "be careful, watch out". It agrees in gender and number: radda balha for the feminine, raddin balhom for the plural. The corresponding verb is redd lbal, "to pay attention". Pitfall: it is not about "returning" anything, but about "turning one's mind toward" something.
Example
كون رادّ بالك فالطريق
kun radd balek f triq
“Be careful on the road.”
Forms
| feminine | radda lbal |
|---|---|
| plural | raddin lbal |
| feminine plural | raddat lbal |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “radd lbal” but also “rad lbal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.