hom هوم
Moroccan Darija · pronoun
“hom” (هوم) is a pronoun in Moroccan Darija meaning them, they (variant of homa).
Meanings
- them, they (variant of homa)
- in the negation mahom (they are not)
Usage
Hom is a short form of the third person plural pronoun. It is equivalent to "homa" (they, them). It is heard in some dialects and in fast speech, especially after a preposition: "mn hom" (of them), "bhal hom" (like them). It also serves as the base of the negation "mahom" (they are not) and of the expression "ra hom" (here they are, they are). Do not confuse it with the suffix "-hom" attached to nouns and verbs ("dyalhom", their; "chfthom", I saw them).
Example
وانا وحدة من هوم
wana whda mn hom
“And I'm one of them.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hom” but also “houm” and “8om”. 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.