5chem خشم
Tunisian Derja · noun
“5chem” (خشم) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning nose.
Meanings
- nose
- snout (colloquial)
Usage
5chem is the usual word for the nose in Tunisia. It is used in everyday expressions: "mo7rmet 5chem" (handkerchief), "5chmi msakker" (I have a blocked nose), "9atra mta3 5chem" (nose drops). "Ya bou 5chem" is a friendly tease aimed at someone with a big nose. With a suffix pronoun, you say "5achmi" (my nose) and "5achmou" (his nose). The expression "7att 5achmou" means to poke one's nose into other people's business. The word is colloquial without being vulgar. The standard word anf is not used in spoken language.
Example
هههه يا بو خشم
hhhh ya bou 5cham
“Hahaha, you big-nose!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5chem” but also “khchem”, “5cham”, “khcham” and “5echm”. 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 “5chem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “nose”; “snout, muzzle (animal)”: khechm in Algerian.