ghoul غول
Tunisian Derja · noun
“ghoul” (غول) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning ogre, monster of folk tales.
Meanings
- ogre, monster of folk tales
- formidable, very strong person or team
Usage
The word ghoul first means the ogre of folk tales, a creature children are threatened with. The feminine is ghoula, the ogress. Figuratively, it describes someone of exceptional strength or endurance: a hard worker, an insatiable eater, or a club dominating its league. In this case it is used as a predicate, for example in "houwa ghoul", and the tone is admiring or ironic. The register is colloquial and common. Note: the spelling gool is sometimes also used to write "goal" (in football), which can cause confusion in writing.
Example
هاكا راجل غول، يخدم نهار كامل وما يتعبش
haka rajel ghoul, ye5dem nhar kamel w ma yet3ebch
“This guy is a beast, he works all day and doesn't get tired.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghoul” but also “ghol”, “8oul” and “ghool”. 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.
Type “ghoul” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “ogre, monster of folk tales”; “glutton or very hulking person”: ghoul in Moroccan.