5dem خدم
Tunisian Derja · verb
“5dem” (خدم) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to work.
Meanings
- to work
- to function, to run (device)
- to employ, to hire
Usage
5dem is the usual verb for "to work": y5dem fi bank, "he works in a bank". For a machine, it means "to run": el klima ma t5demch, "the AC doesn't work". With a person as object, it means "to employ": 5addemni 3andou, "he hired me to work for him". The related noun, 5edma, means "work, job". The form 5dem is also used colloquially as a noun for "work, jobs". Depending on the region, the word is spelled 5dem, khdem or khdam.
Example
باش تخدم لبلاد موش باش تتكبّر و تكسب ,
bech te5dem libled mouch bech titkabbir ou téksib ,
“To work for the country, not to show off and get rich.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5dem” but also “khdem”, “khdam” and “5dam”. 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 “5dem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to work”; “to employ, hire (khddem)”: khdem in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to work”; “to function, run (device)”: khdem in Algerian.