jam3iya جمعية
Moroccan Darija · noun
“jam3iya” (جمعية) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning association, non-profit organization.
Meanings
- association, non-profit organization
- tontine, savings circle among acquaintances
Usage
Jam3iya refers to a registered association: cultural, sports, neighbourhood or charitable. People say dkhel l-chi jam3iya or nkhrat f chi jam3iya for "to join an association". In daily life, the word also means an informal rotating savings circle (tontine). Each member pays a fixed sum at regular intervals, and each in turn receives the pot: dar jam3iya, "to set up a savings circle". This second sense is very common among colleagues, neighbours or family members. It should not be confused with an association in the administrative sense. The plural is jam3iyat.
Example
كون غير قدرت ن نخارت فشي جمعية
koun ghir 9dert n n5aret fchi jam3iya
“If only I could join an association.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jam3iya” but also “jm3ia”, “jam3ia”, “jm3ya” and “jam3iyya”. 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.
Type “jam3iya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “association, club”; “learned society, organization”: jam3iya in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “association (organization)”; “sports club”: jam3ia in Tunisian.