wilaya ولاية

Tunisian Derja · noun

“wilaya” (ولاية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning governorate (administrative division).

Meanings

1. governorate (administrative division)
2. state (of a federal country)

Usage

In Tunisia, wilaya designates the governorate, the major administrative division headed by a wali (governor). The seat of this administration is also called el wilaya, as in mchit lel wilaya, "I went to the governorate". The plural is wilayet. For a foreign country, the word can also designate a federated state, for example el wilayet el mot7ida, the United States. It should not be confused with the delegation, called mo3tamdiya, which is a subdivision of the wilaya.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wilaya” but also “wileya”, “wlaya”, “wilayet” and “welaya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “wilaya” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “wilaya, administrative division”; “provincial seat, wilaya headquarters”: wilaya in Algerian.