Northern Africa
Video Chat with People from Algeria
Algeria is Africa's largest country by area, and the person you meet there could be in Algiers overlooking its bay, in Oran on the western coast, in Constantine with its bridges strung across a deep gorge, or in Tlemcen, Annaba or Tizi Ouzou in the Kabylie mountains. Algerian Arabic, called Darja, is the everyday language; Tamazight languages such as Kabyle are widely spoken too; and French turns up constantly in conversation, at university and online. Many younger adults are learning English, so a three-language chat isn't unusual.
There's no daylight saving in Algeria, which sits at UTC+1, so its evenings match Paris in winter and run an hour behind it in summer; on the US East Coast they fall in the afternoon. Raï from Oran, chaâbi from Algiers and Kabyle songs are great conversation starters, and football has a huge following. Ask about couscous, chakhchoukha, rechta or mhajeb, or about trips south into the Sahara and the ancient rock art of Tassili n'Ajjer. If you're new to Arabic, start with our Arabic practice page.
Algeria at a glance
| Flag | 🇩🇿 |
|---|---|
| Official name | People's Democratic Republic of Algeria |
| Capital | Algiers |
| Region | Africa · Northern Africa |
| Official language | Arabic |
| Currency | Algerian dinar (د.ج, DZD) |
| Calling code | +213 |
| Time zone | Central European Standard Time (Africa/Algiers) |
How to say hello
A few words of Arabic make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic (Algerian) | صحة! واش الأحوال؟ | SAH-ha! wesh lah-WAL | Hi! How are things? |
| Kabyle | Azul! | ah-ZOOL | Hello! |
| French | Salut, ça va ? | sah-LOO, sah VAH | Hi, how's it going? |
Tips for chatting with people from Algeria
- Algerians often mix Darja and French in one sentence ("wesh, ça va?"), so a few French words go a long way even if you don't speak Arabic.
- Kabyle and other Amazigh speakers appreciate an "Azul," the warm hello shared across many Amazigh communities in North Africa.
- Ask where someone lives: the country runs from the Mediterranean coast to the deep Sahara around Tamanrasset, and daily life in Algiers can be very different from life in the south.
- Ask for a raï recommendation; Oran's singers are a point of pride and an easy way into music talk.
Only meet people from Algeria
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Algeria, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Algeria and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Algeria, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Algeria are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Algeria borders 7 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: