chamm شم

Tunisian Derja · verb

“chamm” (شم) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to smell, to sniff (a scent).

Meanings

1. to smell, to sniff (a scent)
2. to sniff out, to suspect something

Usage

Chamm first means "to smell a scent": chamm el ri7a, "smell the scent". In the past tense it is chammit, "I smelled", and in the present nchamm. As in English, it also has a figurative sense: chamm el 7keya means "he sniffed out the affair, he suspected something". To express "giving off a smell", Tunisian uses other constructions, for example ri7tou behya, "he smells good". Chamm is therefore used only for the person who perceives the smell. The imperative is chimm or chamm. It is a word of all registers.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chamm” but also “cham”, “chem”, “shamm” and “chim”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “chamm” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to smell, sniff a scent”; “to get some fresh air (chemm lhwa)”: chemm in Moroccan.