mar7be مرحبا
Tunisian Derja · interjection
“mar7be” (مرحبا) is an interjection in Tunisian Derja meaning welcome.
Meanings
- welcome
- with pleasure, gladly
Usage
In Tunisia, mar7be is used first to welcome someone: "welcome". It is not a simple "hello" as in other Arab countries. It is built with bi- followed by a pronoun: mar7be bik (to one person), mar7be bikom (to several). The usual reply is yberek fik or allah ybarek fik. The word is also used to accept a request or an invitation: "with pleasure, gladly". It is warm and used in all registers, from family to business. Pitfall: don't take it for a greeting when meeting someone, which is rather said aslema or ahla.
Example
مرحبا بك زينو
Marhbe bik zinou
“Welcome, Zinou.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mar7be” but also “marhbe”, “mar7ba”, “marhba”, “mara7be” and “marahbe”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “mar7be” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “welcome”; “gladly, with pleasure”: mer7ba in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “welcome”; “hello, hi”: marhba in Algerian.