9lam قلم
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9lam” (قلم) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning pen, pencil.
Meanings
- pen, pencil
- slap
Usage
9lam refers to a writing instrument in general. The plural is "9lama" or "a9lem". To be precise, you say "9lam rsas" (pencil) and "9lam jaf" (ballpoint pen). In practice, many Tunisians simply say "stylo". In informal speech, the word also takes on the meaning "slap": "kla 9lam" means "he got slapped". Context resolves the ambiguity. In expressions like "bel 9lam", the word refers to writing or to the pen as a means of writing.
Example
سلفني قلم نكتب بيه.
sallafni 9lam nekteb bih.
“Lend me a pen to write with.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9lam” but also “qalam”, “klam” and “9alam”. 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.
Type “9lam” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “pen”; “pencil”: 9lam in Moroccan.