djem3a الجمعة
Algerian Darja · noun
“djem3a” (الجمعة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning Friday.
Meanings
- Friday
- Friday prayer
- week
Usage
El-djem3a is Friday, the weekly day of rest in Algeria and the day of the main congregational prayer. One says "nhar el-djem3a" (on Friday) and "salat el-djem3a" (the Friday prayer). By extension, djem3a can also mean a week: "djem3a w nroh" (in a week I'm leaving). The plural is djmou3at. In darja, dj is pronounced as in "jean", often preceded by a light d. Do not confuse it with djma3a, which means group or assembly.
Example
نهار الجمعة نروحو للدار الكبيرة
nhar el djem3a nrohou l-dar lekbira
“On Friday we go to the grandparents' house.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “djem3a” but also “jem3a”, “jom3a” and “djemaa”. 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 “djem3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written جمعة, where it means “Friday”; “week”: jem3a in Moroccan.