labes لاباس
Tunisian Derja · expression
“labes” (لاباس) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning fine, okay (greeting).
Meanings
- fine, okay (greeting)
- well-off, financially comfortable
- not bad, decent
Usage
Labes is the most common greeting formula. Labes? means "how are you?", and the reply is labes, el-7amdoullah, "fine, thank God". One also says labes 3lik?, "are you well?". Labes 3lih, said of a person, means that they are well-off, living comfortably, or more simply that they are doing well. Of a thing, labes means "decent, not bad". Pitfall: do not confuse it with lbes, "clothes", or lebes, "he put on (clothing)". Online it is often abbreviated to lbs.
Example
لاباس عليك؟ لاباس الحمد لله
labes 3lik? labes el7amdoullah
“Are you well? Fine, thank God.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “labes” but also “lebes”, “labess”, “lbs”, “labas” and “lebess”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “labes” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “fine, well”; “no problem”: labas in Algerian.