3omoman عموما

Moroccan Darija · adverb

“3omoman” (عموما) is an adverb in Moroccan Darija meaning generally, overall.

Meanings

1. generally, overall
2. most of the time

Usage

3omoman is used to present a habit or an overall observation, without claiming to be exact. It is most often placed at the start of a sentence or just before the verb: "3omoman kanji m3a tmenya". It comes from Standard Arabic but is common in speech, among young and older people alike, and also in informal writing online. At the start of an answer, it qualifies a statement, like "overall" or "on the whole" in English. For a habit, ghaliban ("most often") can also be used. In arabizi, don't confuse it with 3omoumi, "public".

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3omoman” but also “3omouman”, “3oumouman” and “omoman”. 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 “3omoman” 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”; “anyway, in short”: 3omoman in Algerian.