ghalli غلي
Tunisian Derja · verb
“ghalli” (غلي) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to boil (something).
Meanings
- to boil (something)
- to increase, become expensive (ghla)
Usage
Ghalli is the imperative of "ghalla", to boil. It is very common in cooking and in grandmother's remedies: "ghalli el ma", boil the water. The related intransitive verb "ghla" means "to boil" but also "to become expensive", for example "ghla el kra", the rent went up. The Arabic script does not mark the vowel and so does not distinguish the two forms. Context decides: an object to heat, or a rising price.
Example
غلّي الماء قبل ما تحطّ التاي.
ghalli el ma 9bal ma t7ott ettay.
“Boil the water before you put in the tea.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghalli” but also “8alli”, “ghali” and “8ali”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.