How to say “if” in Darija
In Algerian, you say “ila” and “loukan”; in Tunisian, “law” and “loukan”.
In Algerian Darja
ila الا
A conjunction meaning “if (condition)”; “except, apart from”.
إلا جيت غدوا عيطلي: “If you come tomorrow, call me.”
loukan لوكان
A conjunction meaning “if (hypothetical, unreal condition)”; “if only (wish)”.
لوكان جيت بكري لوكان لقيتو: “If you had come early, you would have found him.”
In Tunisian Derja
law لو
A conjunction meaning “if (hypothesis, wish), in "law kén"”; “to him; him (pronoun after verb)”.
قبل اليوم كنت نتمنّى لو كان يرجع بنا ال وقت ,: “Before, I used to wish that time would take us back.”
loukan لوكان
A conjunction meaning “if (unreal or uncertain hypothesis)”; “if only”.
لوكان جيت بكري، راك لقيتو: “If you had come early, you would have found it.”