labes 3lih لاباس عليه
Tunisian Derja · expression
“labes 3lih” (لاباس عليه) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning he is fine, he is well.
Meanings
- he is fine, he is well
- he is well-off, has money
- not bad, decent (of a thing)
Usage
Formed from labes ("fine, no harm") followed by 3lih ("on him"), labes 3lih first says that someone is doing well: health, situation, morale. Very often it also means that the person lives comfortably financially, without necessarily being rich: "famille labes 3liha". The final pronoun agrees: labes 3liha (her), labes 3lihom (them), labes 3lik (you). Said of an object or a piece of work, it means "decent, not bad". Context decides between these senses, and the tone can add a nuance of envy or irony.
Example
سألت عليه، الحمد لله لاباس عليه توّا.
sa2elt 3lih, el7amdoulilah labes 3lih tawa.
“I asked about him, thank God, he's fine now.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “labes 3lih” but also “lebes 3lih”, “labas 3lih”, “labess alih” and “labes aalih”. 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.