namos - namosa ناموس ناموسة
Algerian Darja · noun
“namos - namosa” (ناموس ناموسة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning mosquito(es).
Meanings
- mosquito(es)
Usage
Namous is the collective: "mosquitoes" in general. Namousa refers to a single mosquito. It is the usual word in Algeria, especially in summer, when people complain of being unable to sleep because of the namous. You say kla'ni ennamous, "the mosquitoes bit me" (literally "ate"). The verb kla, "to eat", is the usual construction for bites. The word is the base of namousiya, "mosquito net", sometimes extended to the bed itself depending on the region. Pitfall: namous, as a collective, takes masculine singular agreement.
Example
الناموس ما خلانيش نرقد البارح
ennamous ma khallanich nergod lbareh
“The mosquitoes didn't let me sleep last night.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “namos - namosa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.