la لا
Tunisian Derja · particle
“la” (لا) is a particle in Tunisian Derja meaning no (answer).
Meanings
- no (answer)
- neither… nor (la… la)
- not (in oaths)
Usage
La is the ordinary negative answer, often repeated or softened: la la, la ya khouya. Doubled before two elements, it gives "neither… nor": la yaqra la yekteb ("he neither reads nor writes"). After wallah, it denies an intention: wallah la na3mel ("I swear I won't do it"). To negate an ordinary verb, Tunisian does not use la but ma…ch, and a prohibition is said ma temchich rather than la temchi. In arabizi, it is written la or le.
Example
لا، ما نحبّش نمشي
la, ma n7ebbech nemchi
“No, I don't want to go.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “la” but also “le”, “laa”, “lé” and “lel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “la” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “no”; “don't (prohibition)”: la in Moroccan.
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.