wilaya ولاية

Algerian Darja · noun

“wilaya” (ولاية) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning wilaya, administrative division.

Meanings

1. wilaya, administrative division
2. provincial seat, wilaya headquarters

Usage

The wilaya is the main administrative division of Algeria, roughly the equivalent of a département or a prefecture. The word is also used in Algerian French. It is used to say where you are from (ana men wilayat Chlef, I'm from Chlef wilaya) or to talk about paperwork: nroh lel wilaya, I'm going there for papers, and the word then refers to the administrative building. The plural is wilayat. Each wilaya has a number, which you can see on licence plates.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wilaya” but also “wlaya”, “welaya” and “wilayat”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “wilaya” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “governorate (administrative division)”; “state (of a federal country)”: wilaya in Tunisian.