gbelli قبلي
Tunisian Derja · noun
“gbelli” (قبلي) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning the south (cardinal direction).
Meanings
- the south (cardinal direction)
- south wind, hot wind
Usage
Gbelli (with the hard g of Tunisian speech) means the south and, by extension, the hot, dry wind that blows from it in summer. It is heard mostly in "el gbelli" or "ri7 gbelli", often to explain stifling heat. It is more common among older people and in the countryside; in town, people also say jnoub (south, standard register). Beware of the Arabic spelling: the same sequence of letters can also write Kebili, a town in southern Tunisia, or 9bali (before me). Context settles which is meant.
Example
الريح جاية مالقبلي، الدنيا سخانة
er-ri7 jeya mel gbelli, eddenya s5ana
“The wind is coming from the south, it's stiflingly hot.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “gbelli” but also “gebli”, “guebli”, “gbeli” and “9ebli”. 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.