ma3loum معلوم
Algerian Darja · adverb
“ma3loum” (معلوم) is an adverb in Algerian Darja meaning of course, obviously.
Meanings
- of course, obviously
- it's well known, goes without saying
Usage
Ma3loum is very common for confirming something obvious, with the meaning "of course" or "obviously". It is used on its own in reply to a question ("Tji? — Ma3loum!") or at the start of a sentence to back up a statement. The tone can be warm or slightly irritated, as if the question were unnecessary. It is readily strengthened to ma3loum ya kho or ma3loum bien sûr. The word comes from Classical Arabic, but its use as an adverb of affirmation is fully dialectal. It is equivalent to "of course", without the learned nuance of "notorious".
Example
تجي معانا غدوة؟ معلوم!
tji m3ana ghodwa? ma3loum!
“Are you coming with us tomorrow? Of course!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma3loum” but also “maaloum” and “ma3lom”. 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 “ma3loum” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fee, charge, tax to pay”; “of course, obviously”: ma3loum in Tunisian.