jem3a جمعة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“jem3a” (جمعة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning Friday.
Meanings
- Friday
- week
- Friday congregational prayer
Usage
Jjem3a means Friday, the day of the main prayer at the mosque, and people often say "nhar jjem3a". Traditionally, it is also the day when couscous is shared with the family. In Morocco, the word also means "week": "had jjem3a" (this week), "jem3a jayya" (next week). Context decides between the two meanings; to avoid ambiguity, many people say "simana" for week. You may think Friday is meant when it is actually a duration: "bqa jem3a" means "he stayed a week".
Example
اليوم جمعة زعما
lyom jm3a z3ma
“Today is Friday, supposedly.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jem3a” but also “jm3a”, “jam3a”, “jmaa”, “jemaa” and “jjm3a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find جمعة and الجمعة, all the same word.
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 “jem3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “Friday”; “week”: djemaa in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “Friday”; “week”: jom3a in Tunisian.