tesma3 تسمع
Algerian Darja · verb
“tesma3” (تسمع) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning you hear, she hears.
Meanings
- you hear, she hears
- to listen
- to obey, heed advice
Usage
Tesma3 is a conjugated form of the verb sma3 ("to hear, to listen"). It corresponds to the second person singular or the third person feminine. It is often used impersonally: tesma3 ghir lmoudj ("you only hear the waves"). As a question, tesma3? is used to check the listener's attention, like "can you hear me?". With the object lklam, it takes the sense of "to obey": ma yesma3ch lklam ("he doesn't listen to anything"). For "to listen to music", one also says tesma3 lmuzik. The gloss "sound" given by the source is misleading: the verb really is about hearing.
Example
تسمع واش راني نقولك؟
tesma3 wach rani n9oulek?
“Do you hear what I'm telling you?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tesma3” but also “tasma3”, “tesmaa”, “tasmaa” and “tesmo3”. 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 “tesma3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to be heard, make oneself heard”; “you hear, you listen”: tsme3 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “you hear; she hears”; “you listen; she listens”: tesma3 in Tunisian.