marhba مرحبا
Algerian Darja · interjection
“marhba” (مرحبا) is an interjection in Algerian Darja meaning welcome.
Meanings
- welcome
- hello, hi
Usage
In Algeria, marhba is first of all used to welcome someone: marhba bik (welcome to you), marhba bikom (to you all). It is said when receiving a guest, greeting a newcomer, or warmly accepting a proposal. The usual reply is marhba bik or allah ybarek fik. It can also serve as a greeting, like "hello", especially in writing and online, but in speech people usually greet with salam or sbah el khir. The pitfall for an English speaker is to use it alone as a plain "hi": it keeps a nuance of hospitality.
Example
مرحبا بيك في دارنا
marhba bik f darna
“Welcome to our home.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “marhba” but also “mar7ba”, “merhba”, “mer7ba” and “marhaba”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “marhba” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “welcome”; “gladly, with pleasure”: mer7ba in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “welcome”; “with pleasure, gladly”: mar7be in Tunisian.