khamej خامج
Algerian Darja · adjective
“khamej” (خامج) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning dirty, filthy.
Meanings
- dirty, filthy
- ill-mannered, immoral
- rotten, spoiled
Usage
Khamej first describes what is dirty or unclean: a garment, a room, hands. Applied to a person, it becomes pejorative and refers to someone ill-mannered, depraved or dishonest. The expression khamej f rassou means "with a dirty mind". For food, it means spoiled. Feminine khamja, plural khamjin. The word is informal. Said of a person, it can seriously offend, because it touches on their upbringing and morals. The verb khmej means "to get dirty" or "to rot".
Example
حوايجك خامجين، روح بدلهم
hwayjek khamjin, roh beddelhom
“Your clothes are dirty, go change.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khamej” but also “khamedj”, “khamaj” and “5amej”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khamej” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “rotten, spoiled”; “dirty, disgusting”: khamej in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “rotten, spoiled (food)”; “filthy, dirty”: 5amej in Tunisian.