3am عام
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3am” (عام) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning year.
Meanings
- year
- to swim (verb 3am, y3oum)
- general, public (3amm)
Usage
The same spelling covers three distinct words. The most common is 3am, "year" (plural 3wam or snin). It is used to give age: 3ndi 26 3am, "I'm 26 years old". It also appears in time expressions: had l3am ("this year"), 3am lowel ("last year"), kol 3am ("every year"). The verb 3am, present y3oum, means "to swim". It is very common for the beach or the pool. Finally, 3amm, with a long final consonant, means "general" or "public" (ttaqafa l3amma). This last sense is of a more formal register. Only context distinguishes them.
Example
عندي 26 عام
3ndi 26 3am
“I'm 26 years old.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan3oum | 3mt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat3oum | 3mti | 3oum |
| nti (you, f.) | kat3oumi | 3mti | 3oumi |
| howa (he) | kay3oum | 3am | |
| hiya (she) | kat3oum | 3amt | |
| 7na (we) | kan3oumo | 3mna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat3oumo | 3mto | 3oumo |
| homa (they) | kay3oumo | 3amo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3am” but also “aam”, “3aam”, “3amm” and “3aamm”. 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 “3am” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “year”; “he swam (verb 3am)”: 3am in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “year”; “general, public”: 3am in Tunisian.