ga3mez قعمز
Algerian Darja · verb
“ga3mez” (قعمز) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to squat.
Meanings
- to squat
- to squat over a squat toilet
Usage
Ga3mez means to squat, to crouch on one's heels with knees bent. The word is informal and often used in connection with squat toilets, which gives it a slightly crude nuance that can raise a smile. It is also found in ordinary situations: crouching to pick something up, waiting squatting in front of a door. It conjugates like a regular verb: ga3mezt, "I squatted", yga3mez, "he squats". Avoid it in a formal register, where a more neutral phrasing is preferable.
Example
قعمز باش يجبد الكرة من تحت الطوموبيل
ga3mez bach yejbed el koura men ta7t tomobil
“He crouched down to get the ball from under the car.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ga3mez” but also “g3amez”, “ga3mz” and “9a3mez”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.