semmem صمّم
Moroccan Darija · verb
“semmem” (صمّم) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to design, draw up (a model).
Meanings
- to design, draw up (a model)
- to be determined, insist
Usage
Semmem is used in two contexts. In a professional or technical setting, it means "to design" or "to draw up": semmem site, semmem keswa (a dress), semmem logo. The corresponding noun is tasmim, "design". In everyday language, it also expresses determination. It is then constructed with 3la: semmem 3la ("to be resolved to", "to insist on"), as in semmem 3la ssfer ("he is set on leaving"). The register is somewhat formal, close to standard Arabic. To say "to decide", people more commonly use qerrer or dar f rasso.
Example
هي اللي صمّمات الكسوة ديال العرس.
hiya lli semmemat lkeswa dyal l3ers.
“She is the one who designed the wedding dress.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanSemmem | Semmemt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katSemmem | Semmemti | Semmem |
| nti (you, f.) | katSemmemi | Semmemti | Semmemi |
| howa (he) | kaySemmem | Semmem | |
| hiya (she) | katSemmem | Semmmat | |
| 7na (we) | kanSemmemo | Semmmna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katSemmemo | Semmmto | Semmemo |
| homa (they) | kaySemmemo | Semmmo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “semmem” but also “sammem”, “smmem” and “semem”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.