lila ليلة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“lila” (ليلة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning night.
Meanings
- night
- evening, eve of a celebration
Usage
Lila means night, from nightfall to morning. Before a complement, it becomes lilet: lilet lbera7 (last night), lilet le3id (the eve of Eid), lilet edd5la (the wedding night). The common plural is lyéli. For "tonight" or "this evening", ellila is used, as an adverb. Pitfall for an English speaker: lila also covers the evening, whereas English distinguishes "evening" and "night". To wish someone good night, people rather say tesba7 3la 5ir.
Example
ليلة البارح ما رقدتش بالكل
lilet lbera7 ma rgadtech belkol
“Last night I didn't sleep at all.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lila” but also “leila”, “lilet”, “lilla” and “lyla”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “lila” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “a specific night”; “evening party, festive gathering”: lila in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “night”; “festive evening”: lila in Algerian.