3bad llah عباد الله
Moroccan Darija · expression
“3bad llah” (عباد الله) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning people, others.
Meanings
- people, others
- hey, good people! (calling out)
Usage
3bad llah literally means "the servants of God." In everyday usage, the expression refers to people in general, often with a moral nuance: doing good to people, not wronging them. Preceded by a, it becomes a public call: a 3bad llah! ("hey, good people!"). It is heard, for example, to call for help or to take the crowd as witness. The register is informal but respectful, without strong religious connotation in conversation. A more neutral equivalent is nas.
Example
ما تضرّش عباد الله
ma tdorrch 3bad llah
“Don't harm people.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3bad llah” but also “3ibad lah”, “3bad lah” and “3ibad allah”. 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 “3bad llah” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “o people! (calling out to a crowd)”; “people, folks”: 3bad allah in Algerian.