ma3likch ماعليكش
Algerian Darja · expression
“ma3likch” (ماعليكش) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning how are you? (greeting).
Meanings
- how are you? (greeting)
- nothing wrong with you
Usage
Ma3likch literally means "there is nothing on you", that is, "nothing is weighing on you". In eastern Algeria, notably in Constantine, it is used as a greeting to ask how someone is, often after the salutation: "ma3likch?". The reply is "ma3lia walou" or "l7amdoullah". The register is familiar and warm. Do not confuse it with ma3lich ("it's no big deal, never mind"), which sounds very similar in speech. The form does not change in the feminine. In the plural, one says ma3likoumch.
Example
صباح الخير، ماعليكش؟
sba7 el khir, ma3likch?
“Good morning, how are you?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma3likch” but also “ma3likech”, “ma3likich” and “ma3likesh”. 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.