zlayji زلايجي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“zlayji” (زلايجي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning craftsman who lays zellige.
Meanings
- craftsman who lays zellige
Usage
Zlayji refers to the craftsman specialized in zellige (zlij), the hand-cut glazed tile mosaic that decorates walls, floors and fountains. People often say mâalem zlayji, the master craftsman. The word is used mainly in construction and traditional crafts, for example when renovating a house or a riad. The common plural is zlayjiya. This trade should not be confused with that of the ordinary tiler, who lays industrial tiles.
Example
جبنا واحد الزلايجي يدير لينا الزليج فالدار
jebna wa7d zlayji ydir lina zzlij f dar
“We brought in a zellige craftsman to lay the zellige in the house.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zlayji” but also “zlaiji”, “zellayji”, “zlayjy” and “zlayeji”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.