walla3 ولع
Tunisian Derja · verb
“walla3” (ولع) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to light (fire, cigarette, shisha).
Meanings
- to light (fire, cigarette, shisha)
- to switch on (lamp, device)
- to stir up trouble
Usage
Walla3 is the common verb for "to light" in Tunisia: walla3 el kanoun (light the brazier), walla3 cigarou, walla3 chicha. It is also used for light or a device (walla3 edhaw), even though 7all is frequent in that case. Figuratively, walla3ha means "he stirred things up", provoking an argument or agitation; and twalla3et can mean the atmosphere heated up. The opposite is tfa (to put out). There is also the noun wal1a, the act of lighting. Not to be confused with wla3a, the lighter, from the same family.
Example
ولّع الكانون راهو البرد
walla3 el kanoun raho el bard
“Light the brazier, it's cold.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “walla3” but also “wala3”, “wal3a” and “wala3t”. 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.