ssem3 السمع
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ssem3” (السمع) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning hearing, the sense of hearing.
Meanings
- hearing, the sense of hearing
- the act of hearing, listening
Usage
Ssem3 refers to the faculty of hearing. It is mostly used to talk about hearing loss or weakness, for example "ssem3 dyalo t9al", his hearing has declined, or at the doctor's. The related verb is sme3, ysme3 (to hear), which is very frequent, whereas the noun is rarer in conversation. It belongs to the standard everyday register, with no particular connotation. Do not confuse it with attentive listening, which is expressed rather by the verb tsennet. It is also cited with chchouf and chchemm in the list of the senses.
Example
جدّي السمع ديالو ضعيف بزاف
jeddi ssem3 dyalo d3if bzaf
“My grandfather's hearing is very weak.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ssem3” but also “ssm3”, “ssam3”, “sem3” and “sam3”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.