jmel جمل
Algerian Darja · noun
“jmel” (جمل) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning camel, dromedary.
Meanings
- camel, dromedary
Usage
Jmel means camel, or more precisely dromedary, which is very common in the Algerian South. The usual plural is jmal, or bel (the herd). The female is called naga. It is also used figuratively for a person who is heavy, enduring or a bit slow. Watch out for a pitfall in writing: online, the same Arabic spelling very often stands for the first name Djamel (Jamel), written without vowels. Only context distinguishes the animal from the name. The register is neutral.
Example
ركبت على الجمل كي رحنا للصحرا.
rkebt 3la ljmel ki rehna lessahra.
“I rode the camel when we went to the Sahara.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jmel” but also “djmel”, “jmal”, “jamal” and “ejmel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “jmel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “camel, dromedary”: jmel in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “camel, dromedary”: jmal in Tunisian.