9oum قوم
Tunisian Derja · verb
“9oum” (قوم) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning get up! (imperative of 9am).
Meanings
- get up! (imperative of 9am)
- people, nation (religious register)
Usage
In spoken Tunisian, the most common form is 9oum, the imperative of the verb 9am (to get up, to stand up). It is heard at home: "9oum mel ferch" (get out of bed). It is often repeated to hurry someone: "9oum 9oum". The feminine is 9oumi; the plural is 9oumou. The same word, pronounced 9awm, means "people". This sense belongs to Standard Arabic and to religious formulas ("el 9awm el kefrin"). In conversation it is used only in quotations or as a joke. To say "people", one says ennes instead.
Example
قوم، الساعة ثمنية وإنت مازلت راقد
9oum, sa3a thmanya w enti mazelt rè9ed
“Get up, it's eight o'clock and you're still asleep.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9oum” but also “qoum”, “9om” and “kom”. 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.