# All dialects: or



## tabyyy

مرحبا 

I have heard many variations of the word "or" in Colloquial Arabic. Sometimes I have heard "wala," other times "ow," and this made me wonder how many variations there are of this word, and if any are specific to certain dialects.

Sorry for the simplicity of the question, I'm a beginner 

شكرا كتير


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## HBZ55

What does it mean? I don't think I've heard that word before.


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## tabyyy

What does what mean? If you mean the word "or," it's used to link alternatives. "This or that," "Are you coming or not?" etc...


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## HBZ55

I know, but I misunderstood his question, thinking the word "or" was a Standard Arabic word and he was looking for colloquial alternatives.
Anyway, in Tunisian Arabic it's welle. People usually transcrible it as walla, but I find using a to transcribe a fet7e appropriate only when the letter is "strong" like Ta and Sa, but that's another topic.


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## Outlandish

walla
aww
amm= MSA


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## Ghabi

In Egyptian Arabic, _aw_ is used in a statement (I want this or that), while _walla_ is used in a question (you want this or that?). _

walla_ should not be confused with _wala_, which means "nor": _la ... wala ... _= neither ... nor ... 

_wala_ is also used in many fixed expression: _wala Haaga_ ("nothing"), _wala Hitta_ ("nowhere"), _mish wala budd_ ("so so; not very good") and etc.

Hope it helps.


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## Outlandish

Ghabi said:


> _wala_ is also used in many fixed expression: _wala Haaga_ ("nothing"), _wala Hitta_ ("nowhere"), _mish wala budd_ ("so so; not very good") and etc.


Wala in the cotexts you mentioned is another word. It is actually two words "wa  و" and "la لا". The "wa" is insignificant to the meaning.
Wala hagah means: nothing.
Wala hettah means: not a piece/ no where.
Mish wala budd means something of mediocre value.


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## clevermizo

HBZ55 said:


> I know, but I misunderstood his question, thinking the word "or" was a Standard Arabic word and he was looking for colloquial alternatives.
> Anyway, in Tunisian Arabic it's welle. People usually transcrible it as walla, but I find using a to transcribe a fet7e appropriate only when the letter is "strong" like Ta and Sa, but that's another topic.



I think the question was about differences in use between ولا، أو etc.


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## Mahaodeh

Outlandish said:


> walla
> aww
> amm= MSA


 
You cann add law to that, which is used in Iraq in questions:

أكلت لحم أو دجاج
تاكل لحم لو دجاج؟


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## tabyyy

I've always learned "law" as "if". I didn't know it couldn't be used in this way. Very interesting 

Shukran ktiir for the responses!


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## Abu Rashid

> walla
> aww
> amm= MSA



aww (أو) is also fus7a as well.


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## Outlandish

Walla = colloquial
am/aw = SA


Except that "aw" is not usually used in questins. If you ask somebody to make a choice, you will use "am". If you are just listing things, you will use "aw".


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## tabyyy

Does this apply in colloquial as well? (Substituting "walla" for "am," of course)


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## clevermizo

More or less. I've learned to use walla in questions and aw in statements, but I think maybe there are occasions when you can use aw in questions also? I'm not sure but I have a feeling it may be a little flexible. Also, the "Either X or Y" structure can be rendered ya X ya Y يا س يا ص.


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## WadiH

tabyyy said:


> I've always learned "law" as "if". I didn't know it couldn't be used in this way. Very interesting



I think it's just a contraction of the وإلاّ that everyone else uses.  I doubt it's related to the Standard لو meaning "if."


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## Soos

In _Lebanese_ we use "ow" or "ama".  Unlike some dialects, you can use ow in a question such as "bt7ib haa OW haa?" (Would like this or that?)  "Ama" is used usually how "wlla" is used in Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, etc:  rayyi7 bokra AMA elyom? (Are you going tomorrow or today?"


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## tabyyy

Ahhh this makes because when I asked my boyfriend (who is Lebanese) how to say "or" he told me "ow" and didn't mention "walla". Shukran ya Soos


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## Soos

You're welcome sweetheart.


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## Jasmine_Chila

hello  How can you spell "walla" as in "or"?


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## Sidjanga

Is it وإلاّ or وَلاّ in PA?


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## elroy

I say وِلا, but I've heard وَلا as well.


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## ilyasnemo

In Morocco, 'or' is said 'ula' (hada ula hada?). Aw and Am are both Standard Arabic (Fusha) and in Fusha, ula would mean wa la = and not. But you can't mix up Fusha and Moroccan, both have their own expressions / vocabulary and so on. So I don't think that, as tabiyy said, ula / walla "can be used that way". You can only use it as "or" in Moroccan and you can only use Aw / Am in Standard.

By the way, I learned that Aw was used for proposing different options and Am for just two options, if there were more than two, Aw must be used. Although Aw would be correct also for two options, Am is preferred in this case.


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