7mar حمار
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7mar” (حمار) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning donkey.
Meanings
- donkey
- idiot (insult)
Usage
7mar refers to the donkey, still very present in the countryside and in the medinas for transport. The plural is 7mir. As in English, the word is also used as an insult to call someone stupid or stubborn: nta 7mar! (you're a donkey!). This insult is common but hurtful, and is avoided with people one does not know. The feminine 7mara refers to the female donkey and is also used as an insult toward a woman.
Example
جاي على حمار عراج
jay 3la hmar 3raj
“He's arriving on a lame donkey.”
Forms
| plural | 7mir |
|---|
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 “7mar” but also “hmar” and “himar”. 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 “7mar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “donkey”; “idiot, fool (insult)”: 7mar in Tunisian.