ghemmes غمّس
Moroccan Darija · verb
“ghemmes” (غمّس) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to dip, to dunk (bread).
Meanings
- to dip, to dunk (bread)
- to plunge into water
Usage
Ghemmes means to dip a food into a liquid or sauce, in particular bread dipped in olive oil, honey, tea or tajine sauce, a very common gesture at the table in Morocco. The usual construction is ghemmes X f Y. The verb is also used for plunging something, or oneself, into water. Present tense: kayghemmes. Not to be confused with ghmez, "to wink", despite the similarity.
Example
غمّس الخبز فالزيت
ghemmes lkhobz f zzit
“Dip the bread in the oil.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanghmmes | ghmmst | |
| nta (you, m.) | katghmmes | ghmmsti | ghmmes |
| nti (you, f.) | katghmmsi | ghmmsti | ghmmsi |
| howa (he) | kayghmmes | ghmmes | |
| hiya (she) | katghmmes | ghmmsat | |
| 7na (we) | kanghmmso | ghmmsna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katghmmso | ghmmesto | ghmmso |
| homa (they) | kayghmmso | ghmmso |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghemmes” but also “ghmmes”, “8emmes”, “ghames” and “ghmes”. 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.