3alama علامة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3alama” (علامة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning sign, indication.
Meanings
- sign, indication
- mark, marker
- brand, trademark
Usage
3alama first designates a sign or indication that announces or reveals something. One says hadi 3alama mzyana ("that's a good sign") or 3alama dyal l-khir. The word is also used for a concrete mark, for example a line or marker made on an object, and for a commercial brand. For a school grade, no9ta is more often used. The usual plural is 3alamat. It belongs to a register ranging from everyday to formal and is understood throughout Morocco.
Example
إلا كنتي كاضحّكهوم, هادي علامة مزيانا.
ila kenti kaDe77ekhom, hadi 3alama meziana.
“If you make them laugh, that's a good sign.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3alama” but also “3lama”, “3alamat”, “alama” and “3alamaa”. 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 “3alama” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “sign, mark”; “grade (school)”: 3lama in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “sign, symbol”; “mark”: 3lama in Tunisian.