kammoun كمّون
Moroccan Darija · noun
“kammoun” (كمّون) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning cumin (spice).
Meanings
- cumin (spice)
Usage
Kammoun means cumin, a spice found everywhere in Moroccan cooking. It is used in tagines, fish, chermoula and legumes. It is also sprinkled, with salt, on hard-boiled eggs and snails (bbouch). The word is used in the singular without an article when talking about the spice in general: 7tt chwiya d lkammoun "put in a little cumin". Caraway is called kerwiya, and it should not be confused with kammoun. The word is common throughout the country.
Example
زيد شوية ديال الكمون فالطاجين
zid chwiya dyal lkammoun f tajine
“Add a little cumin to the tagine.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kammoun” but also “kamoun”, “kmmoun”, “kemmoun”, “kmmon” and “kemmon”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kammoun” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “cumin (spice)”: kammoun in Tunisian.