9mech قماش
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9mech” (قماش) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning fabric, cloth.
Meanings
- fabric, cloth
- material of a garment
Usage
9mech means fabric or cloth, in general or by the metre at the merchant's. It is used to talk about the material of a garment: "9mechou behi" (its fabric is good quality), "chnowa naw3iyet el 9mech ?" (what type of fabric?). It also appears in expressions such as "9mech mte3 koton" (cotton fabric). The word is neutral and common. Figuratively, one can say of a person that they are "men 9mech ekher" (cut from a different cloth), but this use is rarer.
Example
القماش هذا خفيف للصيف
el 9mech hedha khfif lel sif
“This fabric is light for summer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9mech” but also “9mach”, “qmech”, “kmech” and “9mesh”. 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.