smen سمن

Moroccan Darija · noun

“smen” (سمن) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning aged salted clarified butter.

Meanings

1. aged salted clarified butter
2. (figurative, with 3sel) sweetness, kind words

Usage

Smen is clarified butter, salted and then kept in a jar for months. It has a strong smell and a pronounced taste. It is used in small quantities to flavour couscous, certain tagines, harira or rfissa. It is also eaten on bread with honey. Smen beldi refers to homemade smen. The expression "smen o 3sel" describes something sweet or pleasant. "Ghsel fommek b smen w l3sel" means "watch your words, say auspicious things". Pitfall for an English speaker: smen is not fresh butter, which is called zebda.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “smen” but also “semen”, “smene” and “sman”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “smen” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “clarified butter, often salted and aged”; “animal cooking fat”: smen in Tunisian.