malli ماللي
Tunisian Derja · conjunction
“malli” (ماللي) is a conjunction in Tunisian Derja meaning since, ever since.
Meanings
- since, ever since
- of what, from among what
Usage
Malli is the contraction of min (from, since) and elli (that, what). Its first use is temporal: "malli jit" (since I arrived). It marks the starting point of a situation that is still going on. It is also used in the sense of "of what" or "from among what", for example "aktar 7aja malli sar" (what struck me most of what happened). This word is informal and very common in speech. Pitfall: do not confuse it with mella (what a, exclamatory). In writing, the spelling often varies, with or without a doubled l.
Example
ماللي خرجت الصباح ما كليت شي
malli khrajt esbe7 ma kleet chay
“Since I went out this morning, I haven't eaten anything.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “malli” but also “mili”, “melli” and “mlli”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “malli” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “when, whenever”; “since (the time when)”: mlli in Moroccan.