simen سيمان
Tunisian Derja · noun
“simen” (سيمان) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning cement (building material).
Meanings
- cement (building material)
- cement mix, mortar
Usage
A loanword adapted from French, very common in building and everyday vocabulary. You say "simen abyadh" for white cement and "khaltet simen" for the mix of cement, sand and water. The word is masculine and generally has no plural, like a mass noun: "chrit zouz chkayer simen", "I bought two bags of cement". It belongs to the everyday register, on building sites as in family conversation. The standard word "ismant" is found mostly in writing or in formal speech.
Example
لازمنا زوز شكاير سيمان باش نكمّلو الحيط
lezemna zouz chkayer simen bech nkamlou el 7it
“We need two bags of cement to finish the wall.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “simen” but also “siman”, “simane” and “cimen”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.