li ل
Tunisian Derja · preposition
“li” (ل) is a preposition in Tunisian Derja meaning to, toward (direction).
Meanings
- to, toward (direction)
- for, to (recipient)
Usage
The preposition l- indicates direction or recipient. It attaches to the following word: nemchi lel souk, "I go to the souk". Before the article it becomes lel. With pronouns it gives liya, lik, lih, liha, likom, lihom, for example "to me", "to you". In final position after a verb, it marks the indirect object: 9oulha, "tell her". It appears in many polite formulas: sa7a likom, b'chfa likom. For direction, l- alternates with 3la in some phrases.
Example
صحّة صحّة لكم
sa7a sa7a likom
“Well done, well done to you (health to you)!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “li” but also “l”, “le”, “el”, “il” and “la”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “li” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to, toward (destination)”; “for, to (recipient)”: li in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to, towards (direction)”; “for, on behalf of”: el in Algerian.