wleda ولادة

Tunisian Derja · noun

“wleda” (ولادة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning childbirth.

Meanings

1. childbirth
2. birth
3. (woman) fertile, with many children

Usage

Wleda first refers to childbirth. One says "ba3d l-wleda" (after childbirth) or "qrib l-wleda" (close to term). The word is also used for birth in a broader sense, but for a birthday "3id miled" is preferred. Used as a qualifier, "mra wleda" describes a woman who has had many children or has them easily. The word belongs to the everyday, family or medical register. Pitfall: Standard Arabic wilāda is pronounced here with a very reduced first vowel, which gives wleda.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wleda” but also “wlada”, “wledè” and “ouleda”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “wleda” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “birth, being born”; “childbirth”: wlada in Moroccan.