namousa ناموسة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“namousa” (ناموسة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning a mosquito.
Meanings
- a mosquito
Usage
Namousa is the singular unit form of the collective namous. It refers to a single mosquito. The word is feminine, so the verb takes feminine agreement: "9rsatni namousa", "a mosquito bit me". To count, you say "jouj namousat", "two mosquitoes". The word is very common in daily life, especially on summer nights. It also appears in colloquial expressions for an annoying person or a continuous high-pitched noise. The adjective mnamous, "full of mosquitoes", is also found.
Example
قرصاتني ناموسة فالليل
9rsatni namousa fellil
“A mosquito bit me during the night.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “namousa” but also “namosa”, “namoussa” and “namusa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “namousa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “mosquito”; “mosquito bite (by extension)”: namousa in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “mosquito”; “gnat, small flying insect”: namousa in Tunisian.