sme7 سمح
Tunisian Derja · verb
“sme7” (سمح) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to forgive, to excuse.
Meanings
- to forgive, to excuse
- to give up, to waive (sme7 fi)
- to permit, to allow
Usage
Sme7 means above all to forgive. It is heard mostly in the imperative: "sme7li" (excuse me, sorry), a very common polite formula, for example to get past someone or ask a favor. With the preposition fi, sme7 fi means to give up something, no longer claim it: lent money, a right, an opportunity. The sense "to permit, to allow" also exists, mainly in an administrative or journalistic register close to Standard Arabic. In daily speech, people more readily say 5alla (to let). The verb semma7 (sema7) is close, but puts more emphasis on forgiveness granted.
Example
سمحلي، ما قصدتش
sme7li, ma 9sedtech
“Forgive me, I didn't mean to.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sme7” but also “sma7”, “sem7” and “smeh”. 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.
Type “sme7” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to forgive, excuse”; “to permit, allow”: sme7 in Moroccan.