ma3loum معلوم

Tunisian Derja · noun

“ma3loum” (معلوم) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning fee, charge, tax to pay.

Meanings

1. fee, charge, tax to pay
2. of course, obviously

Usage

In Tunisia, ma3loum first refers to a fixed sum to be paid: registration fees, file fees, parking fees, the radio-TV levy. It is used in administration and in everyday life, with the verbs khallas or dfa3 ("to pay"): khallast el ma3loum. The plural ma3alim is often seen on invoices. Used on its own, the word also serves as an interjection of agreement, meaning "of course, obviously". Pitfall: Standard Arabic understands it as "known", but in derja the sense of fee is the most frequent.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma3loum” but also “ma3loom”, “ma3lom” and “m3aloum”. 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.

Type “ma3loum” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “of course, obviously”; “it's well known, goes without saying”: ma3loum in Algerian.