ila الا

Algerian Darja · conjunction

“ila” (الا) is a conjunction in Algerian Darja meaning if (condition).

Meanings

1. if (condition)
2. except, apart from

Usage

In Darja, ila is commonly used as a conditional conjunction: "ila jit, 3ayetli" (if you come, call me). It competes with "ida" and "kun", the latter being rather reserved for unreal hypotheses. With doubling, illa keeps the standard sense of "except". It is heard mostly in religious formulas, such as "la ilaha illa Allah", or in fixed expressions, such as "ghir" (only), which often replaces it in spoken language. In arabizi, the two words are spelled similarly. Context makes it possible to tell them apart.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ila” but also “illa”, “ela”, “ilaa” and “ida”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “ila” on the Arabic keyboard

How to say “if” in Algerian and Tunisian