Learn Arabic › A1 › هَلّا
هَلّا
won't you...? / why don't you...? /halˈlaː/
particleA1#495 most common
Also: why not, how about you, if only you had (reproach)
Example sentences
هَلّا ساعدتني؟
Won't you help me?
هَلّا فتحتَ النافذة؟
Why don't you open the window?
هَلّا انتظرتني عند الباب قليلاً؟
Won't you wait for me at the door a little?
هَلّا أخبرتني بالحقيقة بدلاً من أن تخفيها عني؟
Why don't you tell me the truth instead of hiding it from me?
هَلّا أعدتَ النظر في قرارك قبل فوات الأوان؟
Won't you reconsider your decision before it is too late?
هَلّا درستَ حين كان الوقت متّسعاً؛ فقد ضاعت الفرصة الآن.
If only you had studied while there was still time; the chance is gone now.
Word family
ألّاwon't you / why not
لولاwhy not / if only
لوماwhy not / if only
هلinterrogative marker (is/does...?)
Etymology
هَلّا is a particle of incitement in Classical Arabic. Grammarians analyze it as a compound of the interrogative هل and the negative لا. The pairing turns a yes-no question into a push: it asks why an action has not been done and so urges that it be done. Before a past verb it can also carry reproach for what was left undone.
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