nmout 3lik نموت عليك
Algerian Darja · expression
“nmout 3lik” (نموت عليك) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning I adore you, I love you to death.
Meanings
- I adore you, I love you to death
- I love it (thing, food)
Usage
Nmout 3lik literally means "I die for you". It is a strong declaration of affection, more demonstrative than n7abbek. It is said to a lover, but also to a child, a close friend or an artist one admires, often in an affectionate or exaggerated tone. The form agrees with the person addressed: nmout 3liha ("I adore her", feminine), nmout 3lih (masculine), nmout 3likom (plural). It is also used for a thing or a dish: nmout 3la le couscous. Informal, warm register.
Example
يا بنتي نموت عليك
ya benti nmout 3lik
“My daughter, I adore you.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “nmout 3lik” but also “nmot 3lik”, “nmott 3lik”, “nmout alik” and “nmout 3lek”. 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 “nmout 3lik” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “I adore you, I'm crazy about you”; “I love it (of things)”: nmout 3lik in Tunisian.