namous ناموس

Tunisian Derja · noun

“namous” (ناموس) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning mosquitoes (collective).

Meanings

1. mosquitoes (collective)
2. gnats, small flying insects

Usage

In Tunisia, namous commonly means mosquitoes, especially in summer and at night. It is a collective: one says "el-namous" to talk about mosquitoes in general, and namousa for a single mosquito. The verb often agrees in the singular: "el-namous kleni" (the mosquitoes ate me alive). The word namousiya, the mosquito net, is related. Note: in Standard Arabic, nâmûs also means "law" or "honor". In everyday Tunisian speech, it is almost always the insect.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “namous” but also “nemous”, “namouss”, “inamous” and “ennamous”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “namous” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “mosquitoes (collective)”: namous in Moroccan.

How to say “mosquitoes” in Moroccan and Tunisian