hammam حمام
Algerian Darja · noun
“hammam” (حمام) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning public bathhouse, hammam.
Meanings
- public bathhouse, hammam
- hot spring, spa town
- bathroom
Usage
The hammam is first of all the traditional public bath, where you go to wash in the steam. One says rouh lel-hammam, "go to the hammam". There are separate hours for men and for women. The word also refers to hot springs, which explains the many place names of the type Hammam X. It can also mean the bathroom of a house, although people also say bit lma or la salle de bain. Beware of hmam, with a single m, which means "pigeons, doves".
Example
نهار الجمعة نروحو للحمام مع يمّا.
nhar ljem3a nrouhou lel hammam m3a yemma.
“On Fridays, we go to the hammam with Mom.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hammam” but also “7ammam”, “hamam” and “7amam”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “hammam” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “public bath, hammam”; “steam bath, hammam session”: 7mmam in Moroccan.