lmen لمن
Moroccan Darija · pronoun
“lmen” (لمن) is a pronoun in Moroccan Darija meaning to whom, for whom.
Meanings
- to whom, for whom
- whose (belonging)
Usage
Lmen is the interrogative "to whom" or "for whom". It is formed from the preposition l-, "to, for", and men, "who". It is used for the recipient, as in lmen ghadi t3tih ?, "to whom are you going to give it?". It is also used for ownership, as in lmen had tomobil ?, "whose car is this?". It is also used in rhetorical questions. Pitfall: the spelling limn or limen can correspond to another word, l-limen, "the right", as in dor 3la limen, "turn right".
Example
إيلا ماعاوت ليك لمن نعاود
ila ma3awet lik lmen n3awed
“If I don't tell you, who will I tell?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lmen” but also “lmn”, “liman”, “lemen” and “limn”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.