3lah علاه
Algerian Darja · adverb
“3lah” (علاه) is an adverb in Algerian Darja meaning why.
Meanings
- why
Usage
Interrogative adverb equivalent to "why". It goes at the start of the sentence: 3lah ma jitch? ("why didn't you come?"). It is synonymous with 3lach, and both forms coexist depending on speakers and regions. It is also used alone, to ask for a justification or express surprise: "3lah?". The answer often begins with 3la khater or 7itch ("because"). Note: in literary Arabic, the same spelling can be read "3ulah" ("its height, its majesty"), notably in the religious formula jalla fi 3ulah. That meaning has nothing to do with the dialectal interrogative.
Example
علاه ما عيطتليش البارح؟
3lah ma 3ayattlich lbare7?
“Why didn't you call me yesterday?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3lah” but also “3lèh”, “3leh” and “alah”. 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 “3lah” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “why”: 3lah in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “why”: 3leh in Tunisian.