wld 3mmti ولد عمتي
Moroccan Darija · expression
“wld 3mmti” (ولد عمتي) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning my cousin (paternal aunt's son).
Meanings
- my cousin (paternal aunt's son)
Usage
Wld 3mmti means the son of the father's sister (3mmti, "my paternal aunt"). As with other cousins, darija specifies the branch of the family where English simply says "cousin." The feminine is bent 3mmti, the plural wlad 3mmti. The possessive changes with the person: wld 3mmtek "your cousin," wld 3mmtu "his cousin." A frequent pitfall for learners: 3mmti (aunt) and 3mmi (uncle) differ only by the final t, but refer to two different people.
Example
ولد عمتي جا عندنا البارح
wld 3mmti ja 3ndna lbare7
“My cousin (my paternal aunt's son) came to our place yesterday.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wld 3mmti” but also “wld 3mti”, “weld 3emmti” and “wld aamti”. 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.
Type “wld 3mmti” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “my paternal aunt's son”: weld 3amti in Tunisian.