khammem خمم
Tunisian Derja · verb
“khammem” (خمم) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to think, to reflect.
Meanings
- to think, to reflect
- to think of someone, to care
- to worry, to fret
Usage
Khammem is the most common verb for "to think" in Tunisian. It is used for the activity of reflecting (khammem mli7: think it over carefully) and for thinking about someone or something, with the preposition fi: nkhammem fik (I'm thinking of you). In the present: nkhammem, tkhammem, ykhammem; in the negative: ma nkhammemch. The corresponding noun is takhmim (reflection, thought). Depending on context, it can also express worry: ma tkhammemch (don't worry). Note: the verb is not used to give an opinion like "I think that", for which one says nadhenn or ena n9oul instead.
Example
خمّم مليح قبل ما تاخذ قرارك.
khammem mli7 9bal ma te5ou 9rarek.
“Think it over carefully before you make your decision.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khammem” but also “5ammem”, “khamem”, “5amem” and “khammam”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khammem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to think, to reflect”; “to consider, to think of”: khamem in Algerian.