khima خيمة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khima” (خيمة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning tent (camping, shelter).
Meanings
- tent (camping, shelter)
- large reception tent
Usage
Khima is the usual word for any tent: a camping tent, a nomad tent or a large marquee set up for a wedding, a funeral or a party. The usual plural is khyam. You say "nsb (or rkkeb) l-khima" to put up the tent and "hiyyed l-khima" to take it down. For a reception, many people also say "l-khima dyal l-3rs". The word is feminine and takes feminine agreement: "khima kbira". It is not colloquial and is used in all registers. There is no particular pitfall, but the word does not mean a parasol or a simple tarp.
Example
آه فكرة مزيانة، ولكن ماعندناش خيمة
ah fikra mzyana, walakin ma3ndnach khima
“Ah, good idea, but we don't have a tent.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khima” but also “5ima”, “khaima” and “kheima”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khima” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “tent”; “marquee, event tent”: khima in Tunisian.