7kem حكم
Moroccan Darija · verb
“7kem” (حكم) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to rule, govern, control.
Meanings
- to rule, govern, control
- to judge, rule on
- to catch, grab, hold
Usage
The verb 7kem means "to govern", "to lead" or "to have authority over". It is often built with 3la: 7kem 3lih, "he judged him" or "he sentenced him". In everyday speech it also means "to catch" or "to hold firmly": 7kem lbab, "hold the door", or 7kemtek, "I got you". The noun 7okm means a judgment, a verdict or power. The noun 7akam means the referee of a match. For an English speaker, the pitfall is the concrete sense of "catch", which is very frequent in speech.
Example
نتحداك ت حكم هاد البلاد بعدل
nt7edak t 7kem had lblad b3edl
“I challenge you to govern this country justly.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan7km | 7kmt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat7km | 7kmti | 7km |
| nti (you, f.) | kat7kmi | 7kmti | 7kmi |
| howa (he) | kay7km | 7km | |
| hiya (she) | kat7km | 7kmat | |
| 7na (we) | kan7kmo | 7kmna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat7kmo | 7kmto | 7kmo |
| homa (they) | kay7kmo | 7kmo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7kem” but also “7km”, “hkem”, “7kam”, “7okm” and “7oukm”. 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.
Type “7kem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to catch, grab, hold”; “to rule, govern”: hkem in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “judgment, decision, decree”; “rule, regime, government”: 7kom in Tunisian.