mo7ami محامي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mo7ami” (محامي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning lawyer (profession).
Meanings
- lawyer (profession)
- defender, someone taking sides
Usage
Mo7ami is the usual term for a lawyer. It is used as often as the French "avocat", which is very common in Morocco. The feminine is mo7amiya and the plural is mo7amiyin. Common constructions are dar mo7ami ("to take on a lawyer") and qelleb 3la mo7ami ("to look for a lawyer"). Figuratively, it refers to someone who systematically defends a person, with an ironic nuance, as in nta wllti mo7ami dyalo? ("have you become his lawyer?"). Pitfall: "avocado", the fruit, is said quite differently, avoka or lavoka.
Example
خاصك تقلب على شي محامي
khasek t9alab 3la chi mou7ami
“You need to look for a lawyer.”
Forms
| feminine | mo7amia |
|---|---|
| plural | mo7amiyin |
| feminine plural | mo7amiat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mo7ami” but also “mou7ami”, “mohami”, “m7ami” and “mo7amy”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “mo7ami” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “lawyer (legal profession)”: mo7ami in Tunisian.