mama ماما
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mama” (ماما) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning mom.
Meanings
- mom
- my mother
Usage
The word mama is the most common affectionate term for a mother, especially among children and in urban families. It is used to call one's mother (mama, aji!) and also to talk about her (mama galt liya). There is also mmi, which is more traditional, and mma, which is often used before a first name or in a popular register. Without a possessive, mama already means "my mother". For someone else's mother, one says mmok or mmo instead, or mama dyalek. The word is not pluralized in this sense.
Example
ماما بغيت ناكل
mama bghit nakoul
“Mom, I want to eat.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mama” but also “mmi”, “mma”, “mamma” and “maman”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mama” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “mom, mother”: mama in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “mom, mother (affectionate term)”: mama in Tunisian.