hem هم

Algerian Darja · verb

“hem” (هم) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to concern, to be someone's business.

Meanings

1. to concern, to be someone's business
2. to matter to, to interest
3. to worry, to trouble

Usage

The verb hemm is almost always used in the imperfect with an object pronoun: yhemmni (it concerns me, it matters to me), yhemmek (it's your business). The negative is very frequent: "ma yhemmnich", it's none of my business, I don't care. The question "wach yhemmek ?", "what is it to you?", is curt and can sound impolite. The same word, pronounced el hemm, is also a noun meaning "worry, sorrow": "âandou bezzaf hemm", he has a lot of worries. Watch out in writing: the same spelling without shadda corresponds to the pronoun houm, "them".

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hem” but also “hemm”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “hem” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “worry, concern”; “grief, sorrow”: hemm in Moroccan.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “worry, trouble”; “grief, sorrow”: hamm in Tunisian.