gam7 قمح
Tunisian Derja · noun
“gam7” (قمح) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning wheat.
Meanings
- wheat
Usage
Gam7 means wheat, especially durum wheat, the basis of semolina, couscous and traditional bread. The word is used every day, both for the cereal in the field and for the grain bought at the market. It is often contrasted with cha3ir, barley. Depending on the region, the first consonant is pronounced g or q, hence the spellings gam7 and 9am7. A well-known proverb describes someone who, seeing other people's wheat, sows his own barley: it mocks those who imitate others without thinking.
Example
القمح غلا برشا العام هذا
el gam7 ghla barcha el 3am hedha
“Wheat has gotten much more expensive this year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “gam7” but also “9am7”, “qam7” and “kam7”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.