ياالله

Arabic

Arabic phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Alternative forms

• يَلَّا (yallā)

Etymology

Compounded from يَا (yā, “O”) +‎ اللّٰه (allāh, “God”). The colloquial sense derives from supplications of the sort “O God, let this and that happen!”, whence it was generalised to a particle or exclamation expressing a wish, encouragement, or command.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ja‿ɫ.ɫaːh/

Interjection

يَاٱللَّٰه • (yāllāh)

1. (colloquial) come on, c’mon
2. (colloquial) let’s go, hurry up
3. (dialectal, colloquial, Levantine) word accompanying bye-bye, bye

Related terms

• واللّٰه

Descendants

• Gulf Arabic: يلا (yaḷḷa)
• Maltese: jalla
• Moroccan Arabic: يالله (yallāh)
• → Finnish: jalla
• → Hebrew: יאללה (yála)
• → Norwegian:
  • Norwegian Bokmål: jalla
• → Swedish: jalla

Hijazi Arabic

Etymology

يا (yā, “oh”) + الله (allāh, “god”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jaːɫ.ɫa(h)/

Adverb

ياالله • (yālla)

1. barely

   Synonym: يا دوب (yā dūb)

   Alternative form: يالله

   بِالْيَاالله قِدِرْت أَفْهَمُه

   bil-yālla gidirt ʔafhamu

   I barely understood him

See also

• يلا (yalla, “come on”)
• يا الله (yā allā, “oh my god”)