لا تقلق.

In careful Modern Standard Arabic, it is pronounced lā taqlaq.

With full vowel marks, it is:

لَا تَقْلَقْ

A quick breakdown:

• لَا = lā
• تَقْلَقْ = taqlaq

The q sound represents ق, a deep k-like sound made farther back in the mouth.

This is لَا النَّاهِيَة, the prohibitive lā.

It is used to tell someone not to do something, so in English it often corresponds to don’t or do not.

So here:

• لا تقلق = Don’t worry

This is different from other uses of لا, such as simple negation meaning no or not in other sentence types.

Because in Arabic, negative commands are usually formed with:

لا + present-tense verb in the jussive mood

So instead of having a separate negative imperative form, Arabic says:

• تقلق = you worry
• لا تقلق = don’t worry

That is the normal MSA way to make a negative command.

Because لا used for prohibition makes the following verb jussive.

The basic present form is:

• تقلقُ = taqlaqu

After prohibitive لا, it becomes:

• تقلقْ = taqlaq

So the final short vowel -u disappears, and the verb ends in sukūn.

That is why the fully vowelled form is لَا تَقْلَقْ.

This form addresses one male: you singular masculine.

Arabic verbs show who is being addressed, so this specific form means:

• Don’t worry said to one man or one boy

Related forms:

• to one woman: لا تقلقي
• to a group of men or mixed group: لا تقلقوا
• to a group of women: لا تقلقن

In unvowelled writing, context usually tells you who is meant.

Because Arabic verbs already include the subject.

In تقلق, the تـ at the beginning tells you the subject is you or sometimes she, depending on context. In لا تقلق, the command context makes it clear that it means you.

So Arabic does not need a separate pronoun here.
The verb itself already carries that information.

The root is ق ل ق.

It is connected with the idea of:

• worry
• anxiety
• uneasiness
• disturbance

So تقلق comes from a verb meaning to be worried or to become anxious.

A related noun is:

• قَلَق = anxiety / worry

It is perfectly normal in Modern Standard Arabic and is very common.

It sounds:

• standard
• polite
• widely understood

Even though everyday spoken dialects may use different expressions, لا تقلق is still very familiar across the Arabic-speaking world and often appears in writing, news, formal speech, and subtitles.

Yes.

Grammatically, it is a command: Don’t worry.

But in actual use, it often sounds like reassurance rather than a strict order. Depending on tone, it can mean something like:

• It’s okay
• No need to worry
• Everything is fine

So although the grammar is imperative, the feeling is often gentle and comforting.

To one woman, you would say:

لا تقلقي

With vowel marks:

لَا تَقْلَقِي

The only change is the verb ending, because Arabic changes the verb form depending on who is being addressed.

So:

• to a man: لا تقلق
• to a woman: لا تقلقي