fhem فهم
Moroccan Darija · verb
“fhem” (فهم) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning understand, grasp the meaning.
Meanings
- understand, grasp the meaning
- realize, perceive
Usage
Fhem is the common verb for "to understand", in all registers. In the present one says kanfhem ("I understand") and in the past fhemt ("I understood"). The question fhemti? ("did you understand?") is very common, as is ma fhemtch ("I didn't understand"). The object comes directly after the verb: fhem lmes2ala ("he understood the problem"). To "make someone understand" or "explain", the form fhhem is used. The corresponding noun is lfahm ("understanding"). Note: the h is clearly pronounced, hence the spellings with 8 in online writing.
Example
كولشي فهم نكتة إيلا أنا
kolchi fhem nokta ila ana
“Everyone got the joke except me.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanf8em | f8emt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katf8em | f8emti | fhem |
| nti (you, f.) | katfe8mi | f8emti | fhmi |
| howa (he) | kayf8em | f8em | |
| hiya (she) | katf8em | f8mat | |
| 7na (we) | kanfe8mo | f8mna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katfe8mo | f8mto | fhmou |
| homa (they) | kayfe8mo | f8mo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fhem” but also “fhm”, “fham”, “f8em”, “f8m” and “f8am”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.
Type “fhem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to understand, grasp the meaning”; “to realize, to get it”: fhem in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to understand, grasp”; “to realize”: fhem in Tunisian.