smen سمن

Tunisian Derja · noun

“smen” (سمن) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning clarified butter, often salted and aged.

Meanings

1. clarified butter, often salted and aged
2. animal cooking fat

Usage

Smen refers to clarified butter, often salted and kept for a long time, which gives it a strong taste. It is used in small amounts in couscous, some pastries, or assida. Do not confuse it with fresh butter, called zebda. The same root also gives the verb sman, "to gain weight", as in the proverb "kol men sman yahzel" ("everything that fattens up eventually thins down"), and the adjective smin, "fat". When reading, context tells you whether it is the noun or the verb.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “smen” but also “smin” and “smane”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “smen” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “aged salted clarified butter”; “(figurative, with 3sel) sweetness, kind words”: smen in Moroccan.