3bad allah عباد الله

Algerian Darja · expression

“3bad allah” (عباد الله) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning o people! (calling out to a crowd).

Meanings

1. o people! (calling out to a crowd)
2. people, folks

Usage

Literally "servants of God". It is used mostly as a vocative, preceded by ya: ya 3bad allah is used to call out to passers-by or an audience, to ask for help, to call people to witness, or to express indignation ("for goodness' sake, people!"). Without ya, 3bad allah simply means people, others, often with a moral nuance: ma t'dhlemch 3bad allah, "don't wrong people". The register is familiar but respectful, with a religious tint. It is not a proper name, even though Abdallah derives from it.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3bad allah” but also “ibad allah”, “3ibad allah”, “3bad lah” and “ebad allah”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.

Type “3bad allah” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “people, others”; “hey, good people! (calling out)”: 3bad llah in Moroccan.