3alam عالم
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3alam” (عالم) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning world, universe.
Meanings
- world, universe
- world, sphere ("the world of…")
- scholar, knowing (3alem)
Usage
With the vowel a, 3alam means the world: "f l3alam kollo" (in the whole world), "3alam akhor" (another world, something incredible). It also means a sphere or milieu, as in "3alam lfen" (the world of art). With the vowel e, 3alem means "scholar" or "one who knows". It appears in the very frequent phrase "lah 3alem" or "llah a3lam" (God alone knows). In arabizi, the two forms are often written the same way. Context is what tells them apart.
Example
هادا عالم خور
hada 3alam khor
“This is another world.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3alam” but also “3alem”, “3aalam” and “aalam”. 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 “3alam” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “world”; “God knows (rabbi 3alem)”: 3alem in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “world, universe”; “people (ya 3alem!)”: 3alem in Tunisian.