drahem دراهم
Algerian Darja · noun
“drahem” (دراهم) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning money, cash.
Meanings
- money, cash
- a penny, the slightest sum
Usage
Drahem is the common word for "money" in the general sense. It is used in the plural and agrees as such: drahem kemlou (the money is used up). It is used in all situations: ma 3andich drahem (I have no money), drahem bezzaf (a lot of money). There is a more slangy synonym, swared. It is not used to refer to a specific coin or to the official currency, which is the dinar. Do not look for a singular meaning "a coin": people say dourou instead, or an expression with the amount.
Example
ما عنديش الدراهم باش نشريها
ma 3andich drahem bach nechriha
“I don't have the money to buy it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “drahem” but also “draham”, “drahim”, “drahm”, “derham” and “dirham”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find دراهم and درهم, all the same word.
Type “drahem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written درهم, where it means “dirham, Moroccan currency”; “money (plural drahem)”: drhem in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “money, cash”; “dirhams, coins”: drahem in Tunisian.