9amous قاموس
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9amous” (قاموس) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning dictionary.
Meanings
- dictionary
- someone's personal vocabulary
Usage
9amous refers to a dictionary, as a physical object or an app. The word comes from standard Arabic and is used as is in derja, especially at school and in study contexts. The plural is 9wemis. Figuratively, one says a notion "doesn't exist in someone's 9amous", meaning it's foreign to them: "el kdheb mouch fi 9amousou". For a bilingual dictionary, the language is specified: "9amous fransawi-3arbi". The word is neutral and used in all registers.
Example
نسيت القاموس في الدار ونحتاجو للامتحان.
nsit el 9amous fel dar w ne7tejou lel imti7an.
“I forgot the dictionary at home and I need it for the exam.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9amous” but also “9maous”, “qamous”, “kamous” and “9amoos”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.