chlaghem شلاغم
Algerian Darja · noun
“chlaghem” (شلاغم) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning moustache.
Meanings
- moustache
- upper-lip hair
Usage
Chlaghem is the plural form of chelghoum. It is most often used to mean a person's moustache. An English speaker says "moustache" in the singular, whereas darja readily uses the plural: chlaghmou, "his moustache". The word is everyday and colloquial. It is heard throughout the country, alongside the loanword moustache. The moustache is still associated with virility and adulthood, hence teasing remarks made to young boys. The word is also found in the place name Chelghoum Laïd.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chlaghem” but also “chlarem”, “chlagham” and “chlaghm”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chlaghem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “moustaches”; “moustache (of a person)”: chlagham in Moroccan.