mdallel مدلل
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“mdallel” (مدلل) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning spoiled, pampered.
Meanings
- spoiled, pampered
- coddled, used to comfort
Usage
Mdallel describes a child, or an adult, whose every whim is indulged. The tone is often critical, sometimes affectionate: "mdallel 3and ommou" (the apple of his mother's eye). The feminine mdallla is also used for a young woman used to being waited on. The corresponding verb is "dallel" (to spoil, pamper). Ironically, it's applied to someone who demands too much comfort at work. The word doesn't apply to food: for spoiled food, one says "fased" or "mkhalla".
Example
الصغير متاعها مدلل برشة، كل شي يلقاه حاضر.
e sghir mte3ha mdallel barcha, kol chay yal9ah 7adher.
“Her little boy is very spoiled, he always finds everything ready.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mdallel” but also “mdalel”, “mdalil”, “medallel” and “mdallal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mdallel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “spoiled, pampered (child)”; “demanding, used to getting everything”: mdellel in Algerian.