gmel ڭمل

Moroccan Darija · noun

“gmel” (ڭمل) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning lice (collective).

Meanings

1. lice (collective)

Usage

Gmel is a collective noun meaning lice. It is used mostly for children's head lice, at school or at home. The singular, gemla, is used to speak of a single louse. The usual expressions are fih gmel, "he has lice", or ʿammer gmel, "full of lice". The word is not vulgar in itself. Said of a person, however, it can sound like mockery, since it evokes dirtiness. The verb stays in the singular, the noun being treated as a mass.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “gmel” but also “gml” and “gmal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “gmel” on the Arabic keyboard