la لا
Moroccan Darija · interjection
“la” (لا) is an interjection in Moroccan Darija meaning no.
Meanings
- no
- don't (prohibition)
Usage
La is the basic negative answer: “no”. For emphasis, you say lla, and the form wa la marks a stronger or impatient denial. It appears in 3lach la ? (why not?). Before an imperfect verb, la also serves to forbid: la tqiss (don't touch it), la tmchi (don't leave). The ordinary negation of a sentence, however, is made with ma… ch, not with la. To be polite, a refusal is often softened: la, choukran (no, thank you).
Example
آه علاش لا
ah 3lach la
“Ah yes, why not!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “la” but also “lla”, “laa” and “lala”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “la” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “no (negative answer)”; “not (prohibition, oath)”: la in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “no (answer)”; “neither… nor (la… la)”: la in Tunisian.