belkol بالكل
Tunisian Derja · adverb
“belkol” (بالكل) is an adverb in Tunisian Derja meaning not at all (with negation).
Meanings
- not at all (with negation)
- completely, entirely
Usage
Bel-kol is mostly used with a negation to reinforce a refusal or an absence: ma fammech mochkla bel-kol (no problem, really none at all). On its own, as an answer, it means "not at all". In an affirmative sentence, it means "entirely, completely". The word is in the everyday register and is used everywhere, in speech and in online writing. Note: chwaya bel-kol is understood as "really very little" and not as "a little". It is the implicit negation that gives this meaning.
Example
ما فهمت شي بالكل.
ma fhemt chay bel-kol.
“I didn't understand anything at all.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “belkol” but also “bel-kol”, “bilkol” and “belkoll”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.