namousa ناموسة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“namousa” (ناموسة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning mosquito.
Meanings
- mosquito
- gnat, small flying insect
Usage
Namousa is the everyday word for a mosquito. It is the singular of unity. The collective "namous" refers to mosquitoes in general: "ennamous barcha", there are a lot of mosquitoes. It is heard mostly in summer, about bites, insecticides and mosquito nets ("namousiya"). The word is also used for something tiny or a puny person. It is feminine: "namousa sghira", a small mosquito.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “namousa” but also “namoussa”, “nemousa” and “namous”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “namousa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “a mosquito”: namousa in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “mosquito”; “mosquito bite (by extension)”: namousa in Algerian.