3lama علامة
Algerian Darja · noun
“3lama” (علامة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning sign, mark.
Meanings
- sign, mark
- grade (school)
- great, awesome (slang)
Usage
3alama first means a sign or mark: "3alama 3la el bab" (a mark on the door). At school, it is the grade: "dit 3alama mliha" (I got a good grade). Hence the expression "3alama kamla" (top grade), which is also used to congratulate. In young people's informal speech, "3lama!" on its own is an exclamation of admiration, equivalent to "awesome!" or "excellent!". The plural is 3alamat. It is often pronounced 3lama, without the first vowel.
Example
دير علامة على الصفحة باش ما تنساش.
dir 3alama 3la sfha bach ma tensach.
“Make a mark on the page so you don't forget.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3lama” but also “3alama”, “alama”, “3elama” and “3lamaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3lama” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “sign, indication”; “mark, marker”: 3alama in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “sign, symbol”; “mark”: 3lama in Tunisian.