9lam قلم
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9lam” (قلم) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning pen.
Meanings
- pen
- pencil
Usage
9lam is the common word for any writing instrument, and in particular the pen. To be specific, people say 9lam d lmidad, or simply "stylo" for the ink pen. The graphite pencil is 9lam rssas or "krayon". The plural is 9louma or a9lam, the latter being more formal. The word is used daily at school and in the office. In speech, many Moroccans also switch to the French "stylo". With the article, it is l9lam.
Example
عندك شي قلم؟
3ndk chi 9alam?
“Do you have a pen?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9lam” but also “9alam”, “qalam” and “glam”. 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 “9lam” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “pen, pencil”; “slap”: 9lam in Tunisian.