7kom حكم

Tunisian Derja · noun

“7kom” (حكم) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning judgment, decision, decree.

Meanings

1. judgment, decision, decree
2. rule, regime, government
3. referee (sport)

Usage

7kom (or 7okm) means a decision that is binding: a court's verdict, but also God's will in the very common expression "7kom rabbi" (it is God's will), said to accept a misfortune. It also means political power: "el 7kom" (the regime, those who govern). The verb from the same root, 7kem, means to govern, but also, in derja, to catch, seize or arrest someone. In football language, the same root is used for the referee. Context is usually enough to remove the ambiguity.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7kom” but also “7okm”, “7okem”, “7ekm” and “hkom”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.

Type “7kom” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to rule, govern, control”; “to judge, rule on”: 7kem in Moroccan.

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to catch, grab, hold”; “to rule, govern”: hkem in Algerian.