kermous nsara كرموس النصارى
Moroccan Darija · noun
“kermous nsara” (كرموس النصارى) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning prickly pear, cactus fruit.
Meanings
- prickly pear, cactus fruit
- prickly pear cactus (the plant)
Usage
Kermous n-nsara means the prickly pear, the spiny fruit of the cactus (opuntia), which grows everywhere in the Moroccan countryside. It is used mostly as a collective plural, like kermous: you say kliت kermous n-nsara for "I ate prickly pears". Depending on the region and the speaker, you also hear hendiya, which is very widespread. In summer, the fruit is bought peeled in the street from itinerant vendors. Note: kermous alone means the ordinary fig, so n-nsara must be added to refer to the prickly pear.
Example
شريت كرموس النصارى من الطريق
chrit kermous n-nsara mn ttri9
“I bought prickly pears from the roadside.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kermous nsara” but also “karmous nsara”, “kermous n-nsara”, “kermouss nsara” and “karmouss nssara”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.