sma3 سمع
Algerian Darja · verb
“sma3” (سمع) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to hear.
Meanings
- to hear
- to listen
- to obey, heed (advice)
Usage
Sma3 means "to hear" and, depending on context, "to listen". In the imperative, "sma3" or "asma3" is used to get attention: "sma3 li ngoullek" (listen to what I'm telling you). "Sma3t bih?" means "have you heard of it?". The verb can also express obedience: "ma ysma3ch el klam" (he doesn't listen to anything, he doesn't obey). To listen to music, "sma3" is also used, but "tfarraj" is used for watching a video. The conjugated forms are nesma3 and sma3t. The register is neutral.
Example
سمعت بلي راه مريض؟
sma3t belli rah mrid?
“Did you hear that he's sick?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sma3” but also “sme3”, “asma3” and “sma3t”. 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 “sma3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to hear”; “to listen”: sme3 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to hear, to learn news”; “to listen”: sma3 in Tunisian.