mama ماما
Algerian Darja · noun
“mama” (ماما) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning mom, mother.
Meanings
- mom, mother
Usage
An affectionate word for referring to or calling one's mother, used by children and adults alike, especially in cities. It is also found with a possessive: mamatek, "your mom". The more traditional term is yemma, which remains very common, particularly in a family or rural register. In conversation, ma3 mama or 3and mama is often used without an article, like a first name. To speak of someone's mother neutrally, yemmah or mmou, "his mother", is preferred.
Example
ماما راهي تطيب الكسكسي
mama rahi ttayyeb el kesksi
“Mom is making the couscous.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mama” but also “mamma” and “mamaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mama” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “mom”; “my mother”: mama in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “mom, mother (affectionate term)”: mama in Tunisian.