tselleq تسلّق
Moroccan Darija · verb
“tselleq” (تسلّق) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning climb, scale.
Meanings
- climb, scale
- get up (onto something)
Usage
Tselleq means "to climb" or "to scale": a tree, a wall, a mountain. It implies effort, using the hands or feet. It takes its object directly, without a preposition: tselleq l-7it, "to climb the wall". For simply "going up" (stairs, into a car), tle3 is used instead. Tselleq therefore keeps the idea of climbing. The word is used in all registers, from children climbing trees to mountaineering. A thief who "tselleq" a wall to get into a house is also a common image.
Example
علاش مابغيتيش تسلق جبل
3lach mabghitich tselle9 jbl
“Why don't you want to climb the mountain?”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kantselle9 | tselle9t | |
| nta (you, m.) | kattselle9 | tselle9ti | tselle9 |
| nti (you, f.) | kattsell9i | tselle9ti | tsell9i |
| howa (he) | kaytselle9 | tselle9 | |
| hiya (she) | kattselle9 | tsell9at | |
| 7na (we) | kantsell9o | tsell9na | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kattsell9o | tsell9to | tsell9o |
| homa (they) | kaytsell9o | tsell9o |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tselleq” but also “tselle9”, “tsll9” and “tsellq”. 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.