karma كرمة
Algerian Darja · noun
“karma” (كرمة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning fig tree.
Meanings
- fig tree
Usage
Karma refers to the fig tree, the tree that produces the karmous (the fig). The word is common in the countryside and in families with a garden; plural kram or karmat depending on the region. Pitfall for an English speaker: it has nothing to do with the "karma" of Indian religions. Another pitfall in writing: online, "كرمة" is often a typo for "كرماء" (kourama, "generous"), in phrases like "nas karma", "generous people". Context tells the two apart.
Example
عندنا كرمة كبيرة في الحوش، تجيب الكرموس كل صيف
3andna karma kbira fel 7ouch, tjib el karmous kol sif
“We have a big fig tree in the courtyard, it gives figs every summer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “karma” but also “kerma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.