kelma كلمة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“kelma” (كلمة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning word.
Meanings
- word
- one's word, promise
- remark, comment
Usage
Kelma refers to a single word: "ma fhemt 7atta kelma" (I didn't understand a word). It also refers to a word given as a promise: "3tani kelma" (he gave me his word). "Kelmet sirr" is the password. "Sme7ni fi kelma" serves as a rhetorical precaution before a remark that may offend, meaning "forgive me for what I'm about to say". With a complement or a possessive, the form becomes kelmet: kelmti. Pitfall: the collective "klem" (words, talk, speech) is a distinct word, more frequent for talking about what someone says.
Example
ما فهمتش حتى كلمة من اللي قال
ma fhemtech 7atta kelma mel li 9al
“I didn't understand a single word of what he said.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kelma” but also “kilma”, “kalma”, “kelmet” and “kilmet”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kelma” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “word”; “one's word, promise given”: kelma in Moroccan.