dmme3 دمّع
Moroccan Darija · verb
“dmme3” (دمّع) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to have tears in one's eyes.
Meanings
- to have tears in one's eyes
- to cry softly
Usage
The verb dmme3 (imperfect ydmme3) describes eyes filling with tears. The subject can be a person or the eyes themselves: 3iniya kaydmm3o, "my eyes are watering". The cause can be emotion, a song, a memory, but also onion, smoke or wind. The verb is weaker than bka (to cry): it often suggests discreet, sometimes held-back tears. It is used in everyday speech, with no particular connotation. The expression bda ydmme3 means "to start to tear up".
Example
بلا ما تبدا دمّع.
bla ma tbda dmme3.
“Without starting to tear up.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kandmme3 | dmme3t | |
| nta (you, m.) | katdmme3 | dmme3ti | dmme3 |
| nti (you, f.) | katdmm3i | dmme3ti | dmm3i |
| howa (he) | kaydmme3 | dmme3 | |
| hiya (she) | katdmme3 | dmm3at | |
| 7na (we) | kandmm3o | dmm3na | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katdmm3o | dmme3to | dmm3o |
| homa (they) | kaydmm3o | dmm3o |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dmme3” but also “dme3”, “demme3” and “dmma3”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.