slama سلامة
Algerian Darja · noun
“slama” (سلامة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning safety, being safe and sound.
Meanings
- safety, being safe and sound
- safe journey, safe arrival
- goodbye (bslama)
Usage
Slama refers to being safe and sound. It is found mostly in set phrases: bslama (goodbye, literally "with peace"), tousal bslama (may you arrive safely), mabrouk wa slama. "Slamet rasek" or "slama rasek" is said to someone who has been ill, injured or in an accident, to wish them a speedy recovery: it is an expected polite formula in these situations. The word does not have the administrative sense of "security" (for the police or road safety, you would hear Standard Arabic or French instead). Commonly pronounced without an initial vowel: slama.
Example
سلامة راسك، الله يشفيك
slamet rasek, allah ychfik
“Get well soon, may God heal you.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “slama” but also “salama”, “slema” and “slamet”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “slama” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “safety, being safe and sound”; “welcome back (greeting formula)”: slama in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “safety, being safe and sound”; “health, good recovery”: slema in Tunisian.