9alb قلب
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9alb” (قلب) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning heart (organ, feelings).
Meanings
- heart (organ, feelings)
- centre, inner part
- to turn over, to rummage (verb galeb)
Usage
As a noun, galb or 9alb means the heart, both physically and emotionally. It is mostly found with a possessive: galbi (my heart), galbek (your heart). "Ya galbi" is a common term of endearment. The word also means the centre of something: galb el 7ouma, the heart of the neighbourhood. It is pronounced with a "g" in most regions and with a "q" in Tunis and some towns, which explains the spellings 9 and g. The verb from the same root, galeb or 9leb, means "to turn over" or "to rummage through". Do not confuse the two uses.
Example
صغير و في قلبي غمّة
sghir w fi galbi ghomma
“Small, and with sorrow in my heart.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9alb” but also “galb”, “9leb”, “qalb” and “gualb”. 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 “9alb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to search, look for”; “to turn over, flip”: 9elleb in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to look for, to search”; “to turn over, turn upside down”: galleb in Algerian.