salam 3alaykom السلام عليكم
Tunisian Derja · expression
“salam 3alaykom” (السلام عليكم) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning hello (greeting, "peace be upon you").
Meanings
- hello (greeting, "peace be upon you")
Usage
This greeting is the most widespread and is used at any hour, in speech and in writing. It is said when entering someone's home, a shop, or at the start of a message. The expected reply is 3alaykom esslem. It suits a neutral or respectful setting, whatever the age and situation. Among close friends, people more readily say aslema, ahla or ya3tik essa77a. In writing, it is often shortened to slm or salem. It should not be confused with bislama, which means goodbye.
Example
السلام عليكم، لاباس عليكم؟
esslem 3alaykom, labes 3likom ?
“Hello, how are you all?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “salam 3alaykom” but also “esslem 3alaykom”, “salem 3alikom” and “assalamou alaykom”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “salam 3alaykom” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “greeting: peace be upon you”; “greeting when entering a place”: salam 3likoum in Algerian.