ghlaq غلق

Tunisian Derja · noun

“ghlaq” (غلق) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning closure (of a place, a border).

Meanings

1. closure (of a place, a border)
2. shutdown, lockdown

Usage

Ghlaq refers to the closing of an establishment, a market, a road or a border. The word belongs mainly to the register of media, official announcements and public debate: people speak of ghlaq el-mqahi (closure of cafés) or ghlaq el-hdoud (closure of the borders). In casual conversation, for the concrete act of closing a door or a shop, the verb sakker is used instead. Ghlaq is therefore used for a measure or a decision more than for an everyday action. It is generally followed directly by the name of what is being closed.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghlaq” but also “ghl9”, “ghal9” and “ghle9”. 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 “ghlaq” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to close (door, shop)”; “to lock, to bolt”: ghle9 in Moroccan.

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to close (door, shop)”; “to lock, bolt”: ghle9 in Algerian.