7ouma حومة

Tunisian Derja · noun

“7ouma” (حومة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning neighborhood.

Meanings

1. neighborhood
2. people of the neighborhood
3. local community

Usage

7ouma means the neighborhood as a place to live and a circle of neighbors, with a strong emotional and social dimension. It is used in expressions such as wled el 7ouma, "the guys from the neighborhood", or bent el 7ouma, "the girl from the neighborhood". With a complement, one says 7oumet + noun: 7oumet el andalous, for example. The plural is 7wem. The word evokes solidarity and belonging, and it comes up often in Tunisian rap. It is warmer than the plain word "neighborhood": it refers to a network of relationships rather than a mere administrative division.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7ouma” but also “houma”, “7oumet”, “7oma”, “houmet” and “7ouuma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find حومة and حومه, all the same word.

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

Type “7ouma” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “neighborhood (where one lives)”: 7ouma in Moroccan.

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “neighborhood, district”; “people of the neighborhood”: 7ouma in Algerian.

How to say “neighborhood” in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian