“spoil” in Arabic dialects
verb
How do you say spoil across the major spoken Arabic dialects? Compare spoil (verb) sense by sense across 5 dialects — Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, Maghrebi — with English meaning, native script, transliteration and usage.
What does “spoil” mean?
verb
- Make a mess of, destroy or ruin“I botched the dinner and we had to eat out”
- Become unfit for consumption or use“the meat must be eaten before it spoils”
- Alter from the original
English definitions from Princeton WordNet.
Quick comparison across dialects
| Dialect | Arabic (spoil) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Egyptian Arabic | يبوَّظ | yebawwaẓ |
| Levantine Arabic | يخرب | yikhrab |
| Gulf Arabic | يدلع | yidalliʿ |
| Iraqi Arabic | يدلل | yidallil |
| Maghrebi Arabic | خسّر | khsser |
Full breakdown by dialect
Egyptian Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يبوَّظ | yebawwaẓ | to ruin or diminish the quality of something |
| يدلَّع | yedallaʿ | to spoil a child by being too lenient |
| يبوظ | yebūẓ | for food to go bad |
Levantine Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يخرب | yikhrab | for food to go bad |
| يدلّع | ydalleʿ | to spoil a person, especially a child |
| يخرب | yikhrab | to spoil a surprise or plan |
Gulf Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يدلع | yidalliʿ | to pamper a child excessively |
| يخرب | yikhrab | for food to become unfit to eat |
| يخرّب | yikharrib | to ruin a plan or surprise |
Iraqi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| يدلل | yidallil | to spoil a child |
| يخرب | yikhrab | for food to go bad |
| يخرّب | ykharrib | to ruin a plan or surprise |
Maghrebi Arabic
| Word (Arabic) | Transliteration | English sense / usage |
|---|---|---|
| خسّر | khsser | to ruin, to spoil something (Moroccan, Algerian) |
| فسّد | fessed | to ruin, to spoil something (Algerian, Tunisian) |
| فشّش | feshshesh | to spoil a child, to pamper |
| دلّع | dallaʿ | to spoil a child, to pamper (esp. Tunisian) |
| خسر | khser | for food to go bad, to spoil (Moroccan) |
| فسد | fsed | for food to go bad, to spoil (Algerian, Tunisian) |
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