9ima قيمة
Algerian Darja · noun
“9ima” (قيمة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning value, importance.
Meanings
- value, importance
- price, amount
Usage
Qima (often pronounced with a q or a k depending on the region) expresses moral or sentimental value: "ma ta3refch qimt-ou 7ta ytrou7" means "you only know its value once you've lost it". "Ma 3andouch qima" is a scornful judgment: he is worthless. The word is also used for market value or an amount, but for an ordinary price people more often say soum. Watch out for the arabizi spelling: "kima" gets confused with kima, "like". To avoid ambiguity, it is often written "9ima" or "qima".
Example
ما تعرفش قيمة يماك حتى تبعد عليها.
ma ta3refch 9imt yemmak 7ta tab3ed 3liha.
“You only know your mother's worth once you're far from her.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ima” but also “qima”, “kima”, “9ime” and “qimma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “9ima” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “value, price”; “esteem, respect”: 9ima in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “value”; “importance, esteem”: 9ima in Tunisian.