ndam ندم
Tunisian Derja · noun
“ndam” (ندم) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning regret, remorse.
Meanings
- regret, remorse
- to regret (verb form ndim)
Usage
Ndam refers to regret or remorse after an act or a decision. It is built with 3la: ndam 3la elli 3maltou (regret for what one has done). The corresponding verb is ndim, yendam ("to regret"), which is very common: ndimt 3lih (I regretted it). The word appears in proverbs that advise patience rather than acting in anger. Common register, with no particular connotation. To express a slight regret, yâ hasra or yâ khsâra is used instead. Ndam is reserved for real, serious regret.
Example
قعد بالندم على اللي عملو
9a3ed bel ndam 3la elli 3malou
“He was left consumed by regret over what he did.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ndam” but also “nadam”, “endam” and “ndem”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ndam” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to regret, repent”: ndem in Moroccan.