salam 3likoum السلام عليكم
Algerian Darja · expression
“salam 3likoum” (السلام عليكم) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning greeting: peace be upon you.
Meanings
- greeting: peace be upon you
- greeting when entering a place
Usage
The most widespread greeting in Algeria, used at any hour, when entering a house or a shop, or on the phone. The reply is "wa 3alikoum salam". In speech it is often shortened to "salam" or "salam 3likoum". The plural "3likoum" is used even for a single person: it is not a formal "you". It suits all registers, from the most casual to the most formal. In online writing, the abbreviation "slm" is found. An English speaker can use it safely with everyone, including strangers.
Example
السلام عليكم، واش راكم؟
salam 3likoum, wach rakoum?
“Hello, how are you?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “salam 3likoum” but also “salam alikoum”, “salam 3alaykoum”, “assalamou alaykoum” and “alsalam 3laykom”. 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 “salam 3likoum” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “hello (greeting, "peace be upon you")”: salam 3alaykom in Tunisian.