sellef سلّف
Moroccan Darija · verb
“sellef” (سلّف) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to lend (money, an object).
Meanings
- to lend (money, an object)
- to advance money
Usage
Sellef means "to lend": "sellefni mya dirham", lend me a hundred dirhams. The person receiving the loan is indicated by the suffixed pronoun or by l (sellef l khoh). To say "to borrow", use the derived form tsellef, followed by men 3end: "tsellef men 3endi", he borrowed from me. The two forms sound alike in speech and are easily confused. The loan itself is called sleff or tasbiq depending on the context. The word is in the everyday register.
Example
سلّفني شي فلوس حتى للشهر الجاي
sellefni chi flous 7tta l ch-chher jay
“Lend me some money until next month.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kansellef | selleft | |
| nta (you, m.) | katsellef | sellefti | sellef |
| nti (you, f.) | katsellfi | sellefti | sellfi |
| howa (he) | kaysellef | sellef | |
| hiya (she) | katsellef | sellfat | |
| 7na (we) | kansellfo | sellfna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katsellfo | sellfto | sellfo |
| homa (they) | kaysellfo | sellfo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sellef” but also “sallef”, “sllef”, “selef” and “salaf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “sellef” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to lend (mostly money)”; “to advance a sum”: sallef in Tunisian.