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الإدارة والوثائق
Words

Paperwork and offices in Algerian Arabic

Documents, queues, stamps and the vocabulary of getting things done.

Anybody dealing with Algerian administration needs this vocabulary, whether it is for a birth certificate, a residence document or a bank, and it is almost never taught. Most of it is French borrowed wholesale, because the paperwork itself is in French.

These are advanced words, but they are advanced in the sense of specialised rather than difficult. If you are visiting family and need to sort out documents, this page will do more for you than a month of grammar.

10 words to start with

بلدية
baladiya
Commune, town hall
الميري
lmiri
The town hall (colloquial)

From French mairie, and what people actually say.

المير
lmir
The mayor

Used even in the Algerian press.

دائرة
daïra
Daïra, sub-prefecture
ولاية
wilaya
Province
الوالي
lwali
The governor
مصلحة
maṣlaḥa
Department, service desk
الشبّاك
shshubbak
Counter, service window
الحالة المدنية
lḥala lmadaniya
Civil registry
وثائق
watha'iq
Documents, papers

There are 20 more in this theme

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