labas لاباس
Algerian Darja · expression
“labas” (لاباس) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning fine, well.
Meanings
- fine, well
- no problem
- well-off, doing well
Usage
Labas is the basic greeting formula: labas ? (how are you?) and labas, l-hamdoullah (fine, thank God). People also ask labas 3lik ? or rak labas ?, and often follow up with questions about the family: labas yemmak ? The word is also used to reassure: labas, ma kan walou (it's nothing). With bih or biha, it describes someone well-off or in a good situation: wahed labas bih (someone who has means). Note that it is not the French "là-bas". The two words should not be confused in a transcription.
Example
لاباس عليك؟ راك مليح؟
labas 3lik? rak mli7?
“How are you? Are you well?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “labas” but also “labess”, “labès”, “labass” and “labèss”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “labas” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fine, okay (greeting)”; “well-off, financially comfortable”: labes in Tunisian.