maghloub مغلوب
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“maghloub” (مغلوب) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning helpless, suffering without being able to react.
Meanings
- helpless, suffering without being able to react
- poor, to be pitied
- defeated, beaten
Usage
Maghloub describes a person who endures a situation without being able to escape it. The most frequent expression is "maghloub 3la amrou", literally "defeated in his affair". It is used to excuse or sympathize with someone who acts under constraint. On its own, the word often expresses compassion toward a humble or destitute person, with the meaning "the poor man". The original meaning, "beaten" or "defeated", also exists, for example after a match. The feminine is maghlouba. Note: the word is not pejorative at all.
Example
ما تلوموش، راهو مغلوب على أمرو.
ma tloumouch, rahou maghloub 3la amrou.
“Don't blame him, he has no choice.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “maghloub” but also “ma8loub”, “mghloub”, “maghlub” and “maghlouba”. 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.