jmjma جمجمة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“jmjma” (جمجمة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning skull.
Meanings
- skull
- head (informal)
Usage
Jmjma (often pronounced jemjma or jmjoma) means the skull, the bone of the head. It is used in the anatomical sense, for example when talking about an accident or an X-ray. In a colloquial register, the word can mean the whole head, especially when talking about a blow: "dreb jmjmtou m3a l7it" (he banged his head against the wall). For the head in the ordinary sense, the usual word remains ras. Latin spellings vary a lot, because short vowels are not fixed. The plural is heard as jmajem.
Example
طاح و تضرّب ف الجمجمة ديالو
ta7 o tdreb f jjmjma dyalou
“He fell and injured his skull.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jmjma” but also “jomjoma”, “jmjoma”, “jemjma” and “jmjouma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “jmjma” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “skull”: jomjma in Tunisian.