t3allem تعلم
Tunisian Derja · verb
“t3allem” (تعلم) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to learn, to be taught.
Meanings
- to learn, to be taught
- to get used to, pick up a habit
Usage
The verb t3allem (imperfect yit3allem, imperative t3allem) means "to learn" in the sense of acquiring knowledge: t3allem el fransi (he learned French), t3allem el sou9a (he learned to drive). It is also used for a habit picked up, often a bad one: t3allem 3al flous (he has developed a taste for money). The preposition min introduces the source: t3allemt menou barcha (I learned a lot from him). Note: the same Arabic spelling can be read ta3lem, "you know", a standard Arabic form found mostly in the written formula hal ta3lem ("did you know"). In derja, "to know" is rather ta3ref.
Example
تعلّمت السّواقة العام اللي فات
t3allemt e sou9a el 3am eli fet
“I learned to drive last year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “t3allem” but also “t3alem”, “ta3alem”, “t3allam”, “t3lem” and “ta3lam”. 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.
Type “t3allem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to learn, acquire knowledge”; “to learn to do something”: t3llem in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to learn, to study”; “to get used to”: t3allem in Algerian.