m3alma معلمة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“m3alma” (معلمة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning primary school teacher (f.).
Meanings
- primary school teacher (f.)
- female boss, master craftswoman
Usage
M3alma is the feminine of m3alem. It primarily means the primary school teacher. For a female teacher in middle or high school, people say profa or ostedha instead. Children often address her as sidti. In another register, m3alma means a woman who masters a trade or runs a workshop, for example in sewing or pastry-making. By extension, the word describes a very skilled woman: m3alma fel tayeb ("an accomplished cook"), sometimes with a touch of irony. The more standard form mou3allma is also heard.
Example
أختي معلّمة في مدرسة ابتدائية.
o5ti m3alma fi madrsa ibtida2iya.
“My sister is a primary school teacher.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “m3alma” but also “m3allma”, “mou3alma”, “maalma” and “mo3alma”. 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.