7lem حلم
Moroccan Darija · verb
“7lem” (حلم) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to dream (while sleeping).
Meanings
- to dream (while sleeping)
- dream, aspiration (noun 7olm)
Usage
The verb 7lem (imperfect ye7lem) means "to dream". It takes b- for the object of the dream: 7lemt bik, "I dreamed about you". The same root gives the noun 7olm, which refers mainly to a dream in the sense of an ambition or life goal: 7olm dyali, "my dream". This noun is of a slightly more formal register. For a dream had while sleeping, people more readily say 7elma. Latin spellings vary a lot (7lem, 7lm, 7olm), which can make the verb and the noun easy to confuse in writing.
Example
البارح حلمت بيك
lbare7 7lemt bik
“Yesterday, I dreamed about you.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan7lm | 7lmt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat7lm | 7lmti | 7lm |
| nti (you, f.) | kat7lmi | 7lmti | 7lmi |
| howa (he) | kay7lm | 7lm | |
| hiya (she) | kat7lm | 7lmat | |
| 7na (we) | kan7lmo | 7lmna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat7lmo | 7lmto | 7lmo |
| homa (they) | kay7lmo | 7lmo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7lem” but also “7lm”, “7olm”, “hlem” and “7lam”. 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 “7lem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to dream (while asleep)”; “to dream of, hope for”: hlem in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “dream during sleep”; “aspiration, ambition”: 7lem in Tunisian.