7echma حشمة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7echma” (حشمة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning modesty, restraint.
Meanings
- modesty, restraint
- shyness, embarrassment
- shame
Usage
7echma means the modesty, embarrassment or restraint one is expected to show in company, especially in front of parents and elders. It is a positive value: ma 3endouch l7echma, "he has no modesty," is a serious reproach. The word can also mean shyness or the shame one feels. It is close to 7chouma, very common as an exclamation ("shame on you!") to scold, especially a child. For an English speaker: do not reduce 7echma to "shame"; the word mainly evokes a sense of propriety. The related verb is 7chem, the adjective 7echman.
Example
هاد الدري ما عندوش الحشمة
had drri ma 3endouch l7echma
“This kid has no sense of decency.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7echma” but also “7chma”, “7achma” and “hachma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.