khmira خميرة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“khmira” (خميرة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning yeast (baker's or chemical).
Meanings
- yeast (baker's or chemical)
Usage
The word khmira is the usual term for yeast in cooking, whether for bread, pastry or fritters such as ftayer. In the construct state it is khmiret, as in khmiret el-5obz (baker's yeast). For baking powder, many people also use the French word "levure" or the brand name on the sachet. You say 7ott el-khmira (add the yeast). The dough is said to "rise" with the verb tla3: el-3jin tla3. The word is neutral in register and used everywhere.
Example
حطّ شويّة خميرة في العجين وخلّيه يطلع.
7ott chwaya khmira fel 3jin w 5allih yetla3.
“Put a little yeast in the dough and let it rise.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khmira” but also “5mira”, “khmiret” and “5miret”. 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 “khmira” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “baker's yeast”; “sourdough starter”: khmira in Moroccan.