djama3 جامع
Algerian Darja · noun
“djama3” (جامع) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning mosque.
Meanings
- mosque
Usage
Djama3 is the usual word for the mosque in Algeria, more frequent in spoken language than masjid, which remains more formal. The plural is jwame3. One says rani rayah lejjama3 ("I'm going to the mosque") or salla fel djama3 ("he prayed at the mosque"). The word appears in the names of many mosques, such as djama3 lekbir ("the great mosque"). It should not be confused with the adjective jame3, "gathering" or "collector" (jame3 tou7af, "collector of art objects"), which is written the same way.
Example
بابا راح للجامع يصلّي الجمعة.
baba ra7 lel djama3 ysalli ljem3a.
“Dad went to the mosque for the Friday prayer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “djama3” but also “jama3”, “jame3”, “djamaa” and “jamaa”. 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 “djama3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “mosque”: jame3 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “mosque”: jema3 in Tunisian.