kamcha كمشة
Algerian Darja · noun
“kamcha” (كمشة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning handful, what the hand holds.
Meanings
- handful, what the hand holds
- small group (often pejorative)
Usage
Kamcha first refers to the amount held in a closed fist: kamcha ta3 louz (a handful of almonds), kamcha ta3 smid (a handful of semolina). By extension, the word is used for a small quantity or a small group of people. In that case it is often contemptuous: kamcha ta3... amounts to saying "a handful of...". The word is feminine and is used in everyday language. The usual construction links kamcha to the following noun with ta3. The verb of the same family, kmech, means to grab or squeeze in the hand.
Example
عطيني كمشة تاع اللوز
a3tini kamcha ta3 louz
“Give me a handful of almonds.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kamcha” but also “kemcha”, “kumsha”, “kamsha” and “kmcha”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kamcha” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “handful (of something)”; “small group of people, often pejorative”: kamcha in Tunisian.