jma3a جماعة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“jma3a” (جماعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning group, gang.
Meanings
- group, gang
- friends, guys (address)
- one's people, entourage
Usage
Jma3a means a group of people. With a possessive, it often means “gang” or “entourage”: “jma3ti” (my buddies, my people), “jme3tek” (your people). “Ya jma3a!” is a very common way to address a group, the equivalent of “hey, everyone!” or “guys!”. In religious or political contexts, the word keeps its standard meaning: “salat jma3a” (communal prayer), or an organised movement. It is informal and neutral in everyday use. Do not confuse it with jem3a, which means “week” or “Friday”.
Example
جيت مع جماعتي للعرس
jit m3a jma3ti lel 3ors
“I came to the wedding with my crowd.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jma3a” but also “jama3a”, “jme3a”, “jem3a”, “jme3et” and “jme3it”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “jma3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “group, band of people”; “municipality (local authority)”: jma3a in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “group, band of people”; “(vocative) guys, everyone”: jma3a in Algerian.