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Me irl
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this post was submitted on 12 May 2026
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me_irl
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Funny as a german.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallah_(arabisch)
Very common slang word that was introduced by arabic speakers and is now used by german youths of all background.
There is no english wikipedia for this but it translates to "by god" and is used to swear truthfulness.
Same in France ^^
In French the meaning is literally "see there".
They mean the Arabian term has also been adopted by French youths
I thought they did, but collaquial use of them is the same, and the pronunciation is close. Why is it the Arabian term and not mimicry of the American pronunciation of a term that's been in the language since the 1700s?
No, in France voilà comes from "see there" as you said, and wallah is used as a slang meaning "I swear to god". Colloquial use are very different.
Gotcha
Interesting that Spanish already has "Ojala" which means "hopefully" but also originated from arabic "Inshallah" which is more or less "if God wills it"/"I hope God allows to happen"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ojal%C3%A1
Yah thank god someone is introducing some dang culture to this barren wasteland الحمد لله
Same here in Norway. Many say "wallah, jeg lover"
So basically "wallah, I promise"
This is almost entirely unrelated but I just love how Bodo Wartke can sing his Liebeslied in "Turkish German" (and unbelievable dozens of other languages).
"Wallah" and "Wallahi" are the same word in Arabic. The latter spells out all the diacritics, but the last diacritic of the last word can be dropped in Arabic so people may drop the "Kasra" (E or Y sound).
When you want to exaggerate a word you usually put extra emphasis on the last diacritic or letter if it's a vowel, so you must sound it out.