3dal عدل
Tunisian Derja · verb
“3dal” (عدل) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to be fair, treat equally.
Meanings
- to be fair, treat equally
- to adjust, set, correct
- notary, bailiff (noun, 3adel)
Usage
The simple form 3dal means to be fair or to treat people equally. It is constructed with bin: "ma ta3dalch bin sgharha" (she is not fair between her children). The form 3addel, with a doubled consonant, means to adjust, set or correct, for example a device, a text or a watch. As a noun, 3adel refers to a public officer in Tunisia: "3adel ichhed" for the notary, "3adel monaffedh" for the bailiff. The meaning therefore depends on context and pronunciation. It is important to distinguish 3dal (fairness) from 3addel (adjusting).
Example
تي هي الام ساعات ما تعدلش بين صغارها
ti hiya l'omm sa3at mata3dalch bin sgharha
“Even a mother is sometimes not fair between her children.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3dal” but also “3addel”, “aadel”, “3adel” and “3adl”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3dal” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to arrange, adjust, put right”; “to modify, correct”: 3ddel in Moroccan.