zelzal زلزال
Moroccan Darija · noun
“zelzal” (زلزال) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning earthquake, seismic event.
Meanings
- earthquake, seismic event
Usage
Zelzal means earthquake. It is the usual word, used both in speech and in the media. It is often heard with the article: z-zelzal. The form znzal, with an n, also exists in spoken language. The associated verb is tzelzlat l-arḍ, "the earth shook". For a slight tremor, one says hezza instead. The word is used to talk about past earthquakes, the fear they caused or the victims, and often appears in accounts of disasters.
Example
ماتو ناسّ ف زلزال
mato nass f zilzal
“People died in the earthquake.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zelzal” but also “zlzal”, “zalzal” and “zilzal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “zelzal” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “earthquake, quake”; “major upheaval”: zelzel in Tunisian.