3asma عاصمة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3asma” (عاصمة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning capital city.
Meanings
- capital city
- Tunis and its region
Usage
In Tunisia, el 3asma, always with the article, most often refers to Tunis and its metropolitan area rather than to any capital. Mchit lel 3asma means "I went to Tunis". The expression wled el 3asma (or wled Tounes) refers to people from the capital, often in contrast to people from the interior regions or the South. Depending on the tone, it can carry a nuance of rivalry or mockery. For the capital of another country, the word is used as in Standard Arabic: 3asmet Fransa means "the capital of France".
Example
اعطيني حاجة خير في ولاد العاصمة مننا ؟؟
a3tini 7aja 5ir fi wled el3assma menna ??
“Give me one single thing the people of the capital are better at than us?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3asma” but also “3assma”, “el3asma” and “3asima”. 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 “3asma” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “capital city”: 3asima in Moroccan.