t9lid تقليد
Moroccan Darija · noun
“t9lid” (تقليد) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning imitation, knockoff.
Meanings
- imitation, knockoff
- imitating someone
- tradition
Usage
In everyday use, t9lid mainly means an imitation product, a copy that is not the original: had sbrdila t9lid, "these sneakers are fake". It is then opposed to original or asli. It can also mean the act of imitating someone, their gestures or their voice. The meaning "tradition" comes from Standard Arabic and belongs to a more formal register, heard in the media. In conversation, people rather say l'3adat when talking about traditions. The adjective t9lidi does mean "traditional".
Example
هاد الساعة ماشي أصلية، راها تقليد
had sa3a machi asliya, raha t9lid
“This watch isn't genuine, it's an imitation.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “t9lid” but also “ta9lid”, “te9lid” and “taqlid”. 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 “t9lid” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “imitation, copy”; “counterfeit (non-original product)”: taqlid in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “imitation”; “fake, counterfeit (product)”: ta9lid in Tunisian.