chchemm الشمّ
Moroccan Darija · noun
“chchemm” (الشمّ) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning sense of smell.
Meanings
- sense of smell
- smelling, sniffing
Usage
Chchemm means the sense of smell or the act of smelling. It is the verbal noun of chemm, ychemm (to smell, to sniff). It is used mostly to talk about losing one's sense of smell, for example during a cold: "mchat liya chchemm". It also appears in the list of the five senses, alongside chchouf and ssem3. Note that a smell itself (an odor) is not called chchemm but ri7a. The word is common and neutral, but clearly less frequent than the verb.
Example
مع الرواح مابقاش عندي الشمّ
m3a rrwa7 mab9ach 3ndi chchemm
“With this cold, I've lost my sense of smell.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chchemm” but also “chchmm”, “chchamm”, “chemm” and “chamm”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.