Learn Arabic › A1 › إِلّا
إِلّا
except /ʔilˈlaː/
particleA1#223 most common
Also: unless, only (in negative clauses), but
Example sentences
لا أُحِبُّ إِلّا القَهوة.
I like only coffee.
حَضَرَ الجَميعُ إِلّا أَحمَد.
Everyone came except Ahmad.
ما رَأَيتُ إِلّا رَجُلاً واحِداً في الشّارِع.
I saw only one man in the street.
لَن تَنجَحَ إِلّا إِذا اجتَهَدت.
You will not succeed unless you work hard.
لم يَبقَ في القاعةِ إِلّا قَليلٌ من الطُّلّاب بعدَ انتهاءِ المُحاضرة.
Only a few students stayed in the hall after the lecture ended.
ما هذِهِ الحَياةُ الدُّنيا إِلّا لَهوٌ ولَعِب.
This worldly life is nothing but amusement and play.
Word family
Etymology
إِلّا is a contraction of the conditional particle إِنْ (in, "if") and the negative لا (lā, "not"). The two fused and the nūn assimilated, giving illā with a doubled l. Its core job is to mark an exception, the one item left out of a statement.
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