wla ولّا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“wla” (ولّا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to become.
Meanings
- to become
- to start (doing)
- or (conjunction)
Usage
As a verb, wella means "to become": "wella kbir" (he has grown up). Followed by an imperfect verb, it expresses a change of habit: "wella kaykhdem" (he has started working). The feminine is wellat. The same form, often written wla or wlla, also serves as the conjunction "or": "atay wla qahwa ?" (tea or coffee?). This is the meaning that dominates in the corpus sentences. In arabizi writing, the two uses are indistinguishable, and only context decides.
Example
راه ولا بيخر
rah wla bikher
“He's doing better now.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanwlli | wllit | |
| nta (you, m.) | katwlli | wlliti | wlli |
| nti (you, f.) | katwlli | wlliti | wlli |
| howa (he) | kaywlli | wlla | |
| hiya (she) | katwlli | wllat | |
| 7na (we) | kanwlliw | wllina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katwlliw | wllito | wlliw |
| homa (they) | kaywlliw | wllaw |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wla” but also “wella”, “wlla”, “walla”, “wela” and “wala”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find ولّا and ولى, all the same word.
Type “wla” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to become”; “or (conjunction)”: wella in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “or”; “to become”: walla in Tunisian.