3erram عرّام
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3erram” (عرّام) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning heap, large quantity.
Meanings
- heap, large quantity
- lots of, plenty of
Usage
3erram literally means a heap or a pile. It is very often used as a colloquial quantifier, like "a heap of" or "loads of" in English. The typical construction is 3erram dial followed by a noun. By contraction, you also hear 3erram t-, as in 3erram tl3wasser, "plenty of juice". The word works for people and things alike and adds a nuance of abundance, sometimes of excess. It is more expressive than bzaf dial. The plural 3rarem means heaps in the concrete sense.
Example
راه عندو عرّام ديال لحوايج
rah 3ndou 3rram dial l7wayj
“He has loads of clothes.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3erram” but also “3rram”, “3aram” and “3arram”. 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 “3erram” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “a lot, in large quantity”; “heap, pile”: 3ram in Algerian.