9mer قمر
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9mer” (قمر) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning moon.
Meanings
- moon
- gambling
Usage
This word covers two distinct nouns that are spelled the same way in Arabic. Meaning "moon", it is pronounced qmer, almost always with the article: l-qmer. It is also used as a compliment for a beautiful face, much like saying someone is "as beautiful as the moon". Pronounced qmar, it means gambling: bets, cards played for money, horse-race betting. This second sense is pejorative and often associated with other vices. A qemmar is an inveterate gambler. Only the context and the vowel tell the two senses apart. Be careful: Latin spellings do not always show which one is meant.
Example
الليلة القمر كامل وضاوي بزاف
lyla l9mer kamel w daway bzaf
“Tonight the moon is full and very bright.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9mer” but also “9amar” and “qamar”. 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 “9mer” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “moon”; “very beautiful person (compliment)”: 9mar in Tunisian.