sma3a سماعة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sma3a” (سماعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning telephone receiver.
Meanings
- telephone receiver
- earphones, headphones
- stethoscope
Usage
Smma3a refers to any object used for listening. The first meaning is the telephone receiver: hezz essmma3a means "pick up", and hott essmma3a means "hang up". Today the word also commonly means earphones and headphones, often in the plural smma3at. In a doctor's office, it is the stethoscope. The word is also used for a loudspeaker or speaker. For wireless earbuds, young people often say kitman or airpods, but smma3a remains the general term understood by everyone.
Example
هز السماعة، راهو أمك تطلب فيك.
hezz essmma3a, rahou ommek totlob fik.
“Pick up the receiver, it's your mother calling you.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sma3a” but also “smma3a”, “semma3a” and “sammé3a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.