wallah والله
Tunisian Derja · interjection
“wallah” (والله) is an interjection in Tunisian Derja meaning I swear, by God.
Meanings
- I swear, by God
- really, sincerely
- really? (questioning)
Usage
Wallah is an oath, "by God", but in conversation it is mostly used to stress a point or underline one's sincerity. It can come at the start of a sentence (wallah ma na3ref, "I swear I don't know") or at the end (mabrouk wallah). The variant wallahi is common. Said with a questioning intonation, wallah? means "really?". The word is very common and not at all rude. Pitfall for an English speaker: it does not always amount to a genuine solemn oath and is often just a verbal tic of emphasis.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wallah” but also “wlh”, “walah”, “wallahi”, “wlhi” and “walla”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find والله and ولاه, all the same word.