bel3aks بالعكس

Tunisian Derja · adverb

“bel3aks” (بالعكس) is an adverb in Tunisian Derja meaning on the contrary.

Meanings

1. on the contrary
2. the wrong way round, conversely

Usage

Bel3aks is used like "on the contrary" in English. It serves to contradict or correct an idea that has just been expressed or that is attributed to the interlocutor. It often comes at the start of a reply: bel3aks, ferhet, "on the contrary, she was happy". The register is neutral, in speech and in writing. It can also describe an object put on the wrong way round or a reversed situation: leb5a bel3aks, "the sweater is the wrong way round". In this sense, m9alba is also used. The word comes from 3aks, "opposite". The usual pronunciation is bel3aks.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bel3aks” but also “bil3aks” and “bl3aks”. 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 “bel3aks” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “on the contrary”; “the other way round, in reverse”: bel3aks in Moroccan.

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “on the contrary”; “the wrong way round, reversed”: bel3aks in Algerian.

How to say “on the contrary” in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian