law لو
Tunisian Derja · conjunction
“law” (لو) is a conjunction in Tunisian Derja meaning if (hypothesis, wish), in "law kén".
Meanings
- if (hypothesis, wish), in "law kén"
- to him; him (pronoun after verb)
Usage
Law is used mainly in the construction law kén, which expresses an unreal hypothesis or a wish: "law kén jit" (if you had come), "netmanna law kén" (I wish that). For a simple, achievable condition, kén or ida is used instead: "kén tji, nemchiw" (if you come, we'll go). The same spelling also writes the pronoun lou, "to him", after a verb: "9al lou" (he said to him). Only context tells the two apart. In writing, the pronoun also appears as lou, lu or ilou.
Example
قبل اليوم كنت نتمنّى لو كان يرجع بنا ال وقت ,
9bal lyoum kont netmana law kén yarja3 bina el wa9t ,
“Before, I used to wish that time would take us back.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “law” but also “lou”, “lw”, “lau” and “lo”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.