3ma عمى
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3ma” (عمى) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning blindness, loss of sight.
Meanings
- blindness, loss of sight
- blindness (figurative)
Usage
A noun for the loss of sight, often pronounced "3ma". You hear it mostly in curses or familiar exclamations, such as "Allah yo3tik el 3ma", which remains a fairly harsh formula. The corresponding adjective is "a3ma" ("blind"), feminine "3amya". The word also has a figurative sense: refusing to see the obvious. Online, the spelling "عمى" is often used to write other words, notably "3ammi" ("my uncle"), especially in texts from other dialects. Context decides which is meant.
Example
هذا موش عمى في العينين، هذا عمى في القلب
hedha mouch 3ma fil 3inin, hedha 3ma fil 9alb
“This isn't blindness of the eyes, it's blindness of the heart.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ma” but also “ama” and “3ama”. 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 “3ma” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “blind”; “unable to see the obvious”: 3ma in Moroccan.