karmous كرموس
Algerian Darja · noun
“karmous” (كرموس) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning fig.
Meanings
- fig
- dried fig (karmous yabes)
- figs, collectively
Usage
Karmous is the usual word for fig in Algeria, fresh or dried; the tree is called karma. The noun is collective: "karmous" means figs in general, and you say "7abba karmous" for a single fig. The dried fig is "karmous yabes". Note: the prickly pear, the fruit of the cactus, has its own name, "karmous ennsara" or "hendi" depending on the region. The word also appears as a nickname or character name, which explains some uses online.
Example
شريت كيلو كرموس من السوق
chrit kilo karmous mel sou9
“I bought a kilo of figs at the market.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “karmous” but also “karmouss”, “kermous”, “karmos”, “carmous” and “kermousse”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find كرموس and كرموص, all the same word.
Type “karmous” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written كرموص, where it means “fig”; “figs (collective)”: kermous in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fig (fresh fruit)”; “fig tree”: karmous in Tunisian.