7mar حمار
Tunisian Derja · noun
“7mar” (حمار) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning donkey.
Meanings
- donkey
- idiot, fool (insult)
Usage
7mar means donkey, an animal still very present in the countryside for transport and farm work. The plural is 7mir, and the female is 7mara. As in English, the word also serves as an insult for calling someone stupid or stubborn: ya 7mar, "you donkey". This use is colloquial and can offend; it is common between close friends but rude toward a stranger. The derived verb ye7mar means to get angry, to lose one's temper. 7mar wa7chi means zebra. Context matters above all, since the insulting sense is very common.
Example
جدّي عندو حمار يخدم عليه في الجنان.
jeddi 3andou 7mar yekhdem 3lih fel jnen.
“My grandfather has a donkey that he works with in the garden.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7mar” but also “7mer”, “hmar”, “7imar” and “7mor”. 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 “7mar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “donkey”; “idiot (insult)”: 7mar in Moroccan.