3om9 عمق
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3om9” (عمق) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning depth.
Meanings
- depth
- bottom, deep part
Usage
3om9 refers to physical depth, such as that of the sea, a well or a swimming pool: ch7al l3om9 dyal had lpiscine? (how deep is this pool?). It is also used figuratively, in a more formal register, for the depth of a thought or a feeling, especially in discussions or on television. In everyday speech, to say that water is deep, people prefer the adjective ghare9 or the expression ma kayjibch (you can't touch the bottom). The 9 stands for the sound q, often pronounced like a g in some regions.
Example
شحال العمق ديال هاد البحر؟
ch7al l3om9 dyal had lb7er ?
“How deep is this sea?”
Forms
| plural | a3ma9 |
|---|
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3om9” but also “3oum9”, “3omq” and “3om9e”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “3om9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “depth (of ideas, feelings)”; “physical depth”: 3om9 in Tunisian.