khmsa خمسة
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“khmsa” (خمسة) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning five.
Meanings
- five
- hand of Fatima (amulet)
Usage
Khmsa is the standalone form of "five", used for counting, giving the time (l khmsa, at five o'clock) or before certain nouns with the particle d or t: khmsa d drahem (five dirhams). Before a direct plural, khms is used instead. The word also refers to the hand that protects against the evil eye. Saying "khmsa" while showing the palm, or "khmsa w khmis", is a way to ward off the evil eye. Do not confuse this gesture with simply indicating a number.
Example
خمسة ت دراهم
khmsa t drahem
“Five dirhams.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khmsa” but also “5msa”, “khamsa”, “khemsa” and “5amsa”. 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 “khmsa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “five”; “hamsa (hand of Fatima, lucky charm)”: khamsa in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “five”: khamsa in Tunisian.