3ammatan عامّة
Moroccan Darija · adverb
“3ammatan” (عامّة) is an adverb in Moroccan Darija meaning in general, generally.
Meanings
- in general, generally
- general (feminine, l3amma)
Usage
3ammatan is the adverbial form borrowed from Standard Arabic. It is heard mostly in a more formal register: media, speeches, exchanges between educated people. In ordinary conversation, people more readily say f lghaleb or 3la l3moum. The form 3amma without an ending is the feminine adjective "general", as in ttaqafa l3amma, "general knowledge". Preceded by the article, l3amma can also mean "the common people". Note that 3ammatan goes at the start of a sentence, like "in general", and gives a somewhat formal tone.
Example
عامّةً، المغاربة كيحبّو أتاي.
3ammatan, lmgharba kay7ebbo atay.
“In general, Moroccans like tea.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ammatan” but also “3amatan”, “3aammatan” and “3amma”. 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 “3ammatan” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “in general, overall”; “all without exception, as a whole”: 3amma in Algerian.