ra7ma رحمة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“ra7ma” (رحمة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning mercy, pity.
Meanings
- mercy, pity
- divine mercy (religious phrases)
Usage
Rahma means pity, the compassion shown to someone, and above all the mercy of God. The spellings rahmet or ra7met correspond to the construct state, before a complement: rahmet allah, the mercy of God, in the greeting "essalam 3likom w rahmet allah". A harsh person is described as "ma 3andouch rahma" or "ma fih rahma": he has no pity at all. The word also recurs in condolence phrases about the deceased. The register is neutral, both everyday and religious. Rahma is also a female given name, not to be confused with the common noun.
Example
هاك الراجل ما عندوش رحمة.
hak erra jel ma 3andouch ra7ma.
“That man has no pity at all.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ra7ma” but also “rahma”, “ra7met”, “rahmet” and “ra7mat”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.