9awem قاوم
Moroccan Darija · verb
“9awem” (قاوم) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning resist, oppose.
Meanings
- resist, oppose
- hold out, endure
Usage
Qawem means "to resist" or "to face up to". It is used for resistance to an enemy, an illness or a temptation. The object is attached directly: qawem le3du, "he resisted the enemy". The present is kayqawem and the imperative is qawem. The word is fairly formal and close to Modern Standard Arabic. It is often found in historical accounts of the resistance (lmuqawama), in the media or in words of encouragement. In everyday conversation, sber, "to be patient, to hold on", or sbeq, depending on the context, is often preferred.
Example
قاوم المرض حتى برا
9awem lmard 7tta bra
“He fought off the illness until he recovered.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan9aawem | 9aawemt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat9aawem | 9aawemti | 9aawem |
| nti (you, f.) | kat9aawmi | 9aawemti | 9aawmi |
| howa (he) | kay9aawem | 9aawem | |
| hiya (she) | kat9aawem | 9aawmat | |
| 7na (we) | kan9aawmo | 9aawmna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat9aawmo | 9aawmto | 9aawmo |
| homa (they) | kay9aawmo | 9aawmo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9awem” but also “9aawem”, “9awm”, “qawem” and “9aawm”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “9awem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to resist, to fight against”; “to hold out, to endure”: 9awem in Tunisian.