mokhayam مخيّم
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mokhayam” (مخيّم) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning summer camp.
Meanings
- summer camp
- camp (refugee, tent)
Usage
Mokhayyam is a rather formal word, from Modern Standard Arabic, but well established in Moroccan usage. It is used mainly for summer camps organized for children and young people, often in the expression lmokhayyam ṣ-ṣayfi, "the summer camp". People commonly say mcha l lmokhayyam, "he went off to camp". The word is also used for a refugee camp or an encampment. For a tourist campsite, many speakers prefer "camping", borrowed from French. The plural is mokhayyamat. Pronunciation varies with the level of speech: mokhayyam, or mkhayyam in more relaxed speech.
Example
ولدي مشا للمخيم هاد الصيف
weldi mcha l lmokhayyam had sif
“My son went to summer camp this summer.”
Forms
| plural | mokhyyamat |
|---|
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 “mokhayam” but also “mokhayyam”, “mo5yam”, “mkhayam” and “mokhyyam”. 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.