touma تومة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“touma” (تومة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning garlic.
Meanings
- garlic
- garlic clove
Usage
Touma is the usual word for garlic, very present in Moroccan cooking: tajines, chermoula, sauces. It is most often pronounced with the assimilated article, ttouma. For a clove, people say "fesset touma" or "sennat touma"; for a head of garlic, "ras dyal touma". The word is a collective, with an uncountable sense: "zid chwiya d touma" (add a little garlic). People also say "touma beldiya" for local garlic, reputed to be stronger. Touma should not be confused with toum, the Levantine garlic sauce, little known in Morocco.
Example
زيد شوية ديال التومة فالطاجين
zid chwiya dyal ttouma f tajine
“Add a little garlic to the tajine.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “touma” but also “ttouma”, “toma” and “tuma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.