rabbi y5allik ربي يخليك
Tunisian Derja · expression
“rabbi y5allik” (ربي يخليك) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning please.
Meanings
- please
- thank you, God keep you
Usage
Rabbi y5allik literally means "may God keep you". It is the most common formula for politely asking for something, the equivalent of "please": rabbi y5allik a3tini el melh, "pass me the salt, please". It is also used to thank someone warmly after a favour. In the plural or to address someone formally, one says rabbi y5allikom. The usual replies are w yaik or rabbi y5allik zeda. The expression is neutral and polite, usable with anyone, from close ones to strangers. Placed at the start of a sentence, it greatly softens a request.
Example
ربي يخليك، وين محطة اللواج؟
rabbi y5allik, win ma7attet el louage?
“Please, where is the louage station?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rabbi y5allik” but also “rabi y5alik”, “rabbi ykhallik”, “rabi ykhalik” and “rabbi y5alik”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “rabbi y5allik” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “please, I beg you”; “thank you, God keep you”: rabi ykhallik in Algerian.