ar7am ارحم
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“ar7am” (ارحم) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning less bad, preferable.
Meanings
- less bad, preferable
- more merciful
- have mercy (imperative)
Usage
Arham is the comparative of rhim ("merciful"). In everyday use, it mostly means "less bad, more bearable": arham men, "better than, rather than". It is often used ironically to compare two things both considered bad. In the religious register, it keeps its meaning "more merciful", as in the fixed formula arham er-rahimin, "the most merciful of the merciful", applied to God. The same form also serves as the imperative of the verb rham, "to have mercy": arhamni, "have mercy on me". Context allows you to tell these three uses apart.
Example
الكار أرحم من التاكسي في الحر هذا.
el car arham men et-taxi fel 7ar hedha.
“The bus is less bad than the taxi in this heat.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ar7am” but also “arham”, “ar7em” and “arhem”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.