Moroccan Darija for “before / earlier”
/9bel/
قبل
Ghsel yedik 9bel lmakla.
Wash your hands before eating.
Latin Darija has several accepted writing styles. You may see this word written as:
These spellings refer to the same word. In chat writing, 3, 7, and 9 commonly represent ع, ح, and ق. Vowels and sh/ch can also vary. You can search using any spelling listed here.
Say 9bel (قبل) for “before / earlier” in Moroccan Darija. The pronunciation guide is /9bel/. It is a adverb. In a natural conversation, you can say “Ghsel yedik 9bel lmakla.”, meaning “Wash your hands before eating.” The French equivalent is avant.
Jit 9bel mnnek.
جيت قبل منك.
I arrived before you. · Je suis arrivé avant toi.
Shft had lfilm mn 9bel.
شفت هاد الفيلم من قبل.
I have seen this movie before. · J'ai déjà vu ce film avant.
3iyyet liya 9bel ma tji.
عيط ليا قبل ما تجي.
Call me before you come. · Appelle-moi avant de venir.
Before a noun: '9bel lmakla' (before food). Before a pronoun: '9bel mn' + pronoun ('9bel mnni' = before me, '9bel mnnek' = before you). Before a verb: '9bel ma' + verb ('9bel ma tmshi' = before you go). 'Mn 9bel' means 'previously / before now'.
| English | before / earlier |
|---|---|
| French | avant |
| Spanish | antes |
| Italian | prima |
| German | vor / vorher |
| Portuguese | antes |
| Dutch | voor / eerder |
| Turkish | önce |
9bel (قبل) is a Moroccan Darija word or expression meaning "before / earlier" in English and "avant" in French. It is a beginner-level word in the time category.
A natural example is “Ghsel yedik 9bel lmakla.” It means “Wash your hands before eating.”
9bel is pronounced /9bel/. You can listen to the audio pronunciation by clicking the "Listen" button above.
In Arabic script it is written قبل (with vowel marks: قْبَلْ).
Before a noun: '9bel lmakla' (before food). Before a pronoun: '9bel mn' + pronoun ('9bel mnni' = before me, '9bel mnnek' = before you). Before a verb: '9bel ma' + verb ('9bel ma tmshi' = before you go). 'Mn 9bel' means 'previously / before now'.