m3amla معاملة

Algerian Darja · noun

“m3amla” (معاملة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning way of treating people.

Meanings

1. way of treating people
2. dealings, relations

Usage

M3amla refers to the way one behaves with others and is treated by them. It is often used to judge someone: "m3amltou mliha" (he is pleasant to deal with), "m3amla khayba" (unpleasant manners), or "sou2 m3amla", borrowed from the formal register, for mistreatment. The word also covers service in a shop or an office. It is very common in comments about the welcome received somewhere. The corresponding verb is 3amel, "to treat someone". For the medical sense of "treatment", m3amla is not used; one says dwa or 3ilaj.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “m3amla” but also “mo3amala”, “ma3amla” and “m3amala”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.

Type “m3amla” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “way of treating people, behavior”; “transaction, business dealing”: m3amla in Moroccan.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “way of treating someone”; “administrative procedure, formality”: m3amla in Tunisian.