tamma3 طماع
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“tamma3” (طماع) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning greedy, covetous.
Meanings
- greedy, covetous
- greedy person (as noun)
Usage
Tamma3 describes someone who always wants more: money, food, advantages. It is used as an adjective (rajel tamma3) or as a noun (ya tamma3!, in a reproachful tone). The feminine is tamma3a, the plural tamma3a or tamma3in. The word is clearly pejorative, without being vulgar. It is often used between close people to tease someone who doesn't share. The popular proverb reminds us that greed makes you lose what you already have. The corresponding noun is tma3, "greed".
Example
ما تكونش طمّاع، اقسم مع خوك
ma tkounech tamma3, a9sem m3a khouk
“Don't be greedy, share with your brother.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tamma3” but also “tama3”, “tamaa3”, “tamma3a” and “tama3a”. 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 “tamma3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “greedy, covetous”; “always wanting more”: tmma3 in Moroccan.