lzoum لزوم
Tunisian Derja · noun
“lzoum” (لزوم) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning necessity, what is needed.
Meanings
- necessity, what is needed
- the essentials, the indispensable
Usage
Lzoum expresses what is necessary. In Tunisian it is heard mainly in the phrases "akthar mel lzoum", more than necessary, too much, and "9ad lzoum", just the right amount. It also designates what is needed for a task or a trip: "lzoum essfar". In written and administrative language it takes the more formal sense of an obligation to stay somewhere, as in "lzoum eddar", staying home. To say "one must", use "lazem" or "lazmek" instead, not lzoum.
Example
حطيت ملح أكثر من اللزوم.
7attit mel7 akther mel lzoum.
“I put more salt than necessary.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lzoum” but also “lzum”, “lozoum” and “luzum”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.