djemaa جمعة
Algerian Darja · noun
“djemaa” (جمعة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning Friday.
Meanings
- Friday
- week
Usage
Jemʿa means Friday, the day of the main prayer and the weekly day of rest in Algeria. People also say nhar el-jemʿa for "the day of Friday". In everyday use, the word is also used to mean "week": kol jemʿa can mean "every Friday" or "every week", depending on context. So you hear el-jemʿa el-jaya (next week) and el-jemʿa elli fatet (last week). You therefore need to check whether a specific day or a span of seven days is meant. The word is used in all registers.
Example
نتلاقاو نهار الجمعة من بعد الصلاة.
netlaqaw nhar el jem3a men ba3d sla.
“We'll meet on Friday after the prayer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “djemaa” but also “jem3a”, “jemaa”, “djamaa” and “jmaa”. 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 “djemaa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “Friday”; “week”: jem3a in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “Friday”; “week”: jom3a in Tunisian.