rsem رسم
Moroccan Darija · verb
“rsem” (رسم) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to draw, trace.
Meanings
- to draw, trace
- to paint (a picture)
- drawing, painting (noun: rasm)
Usage
The verb rsem means to draw or trace: a line, a figure, a portrait. It is conjugated regularly: rsemt, "I drew", kanrsem, "I draw". The noun rasm (or ressm) refers to drawing and painting as an activity: mdrasa dyal rasm, "art school". It is not used for painting a wall, which is sbegh or pintra. Figuratively, rsem can mean to plan, as in rsem lkhetta, but this use remains rather formal. The register is neutral, school-related or artistic.
Example
رسم خط بالمسترة
rSem kheT b lmisTara
“Draw a line with the ruler.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanrsem | rsemt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katrsem | rsemti | rsem |
| nti (you, f.) | katrsmi | rsemti | rsmi |
| howa (he) | kayrsem | rsem | |
| hiya (she) | katrsem | rsmat | |
| 7na (we) | kanrsmo | rsmna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katrsmo | rsmto | rsmo |
| homa (they) | kayrsmo | rsmo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rsem” but also “rsam”, “rasm”, “ressm” and “rssem”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “rsem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to draw”; “to paint, depict”: rsem in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to draw”; “drawing, painting (noun rasm)”: rsem in Tunisian.