5amej خامج
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“5amej” (خامج) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning rotten, spoiled (food).
Meanings
- rotten, spoiled (food)
- filthy, dirty
- despicable (person, pejorative)
Usage
Khamej (feminine khamja) comes from the verb khmej, to go bad or rot. It first describes spoiled food: meat, fish or fruit that smells bad. By extension, it refers to what is dirty or disgusting. Applied to a person, it becomes a fairly strong insult: "ya khamej". The word then targets someone vile or morally repugnant. It is informal in all its uses. It is best avoided when talking about people, except among close friends and in a joking tone.
Example
الحوت هذا خامج، ما تاكلوش.
el 7out hedha 5amej, ma tekloush.
“This fish is spoiled, don't eat it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5amej” but also “khamej”, “5amaj” and “khamaj”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “5amej” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “rotten, spoiled”; “dirty, disgusting”: khamej in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “dirty, filthy”; “ill-mannered, immoral”: khamej in Algerian.