thammika ثميكه
Tunisian Derja · adverb
“thammika” (ثميكه) is an adverb in Tunisian Derja meaning right there, at that exact spot.
Meanings
- right there, at that exact spot
- on the spot, without moving
Usage
Thammika is an expressive form of "thamma" (there) and means "right there, at that very place". It is heard mostly in oral storytelling and folk tales, to stress that a character stays in place without moving: "9a3ed thammika" (he stayed rooted there), "ar9od thammika" (sleep there, don't move). The tone is colloquial, sometimes a bit rural or regional. Don't confuse it with "famma" (there is). For an English speaker, "right there" or "on the spot" captures the emphatic nuance well.
Example
قعد ثمّيكة يستنّى للصباح
9a3ed thammika yestanna lessba7
“He stayed right there waiting until morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “thammika” but also “thamika”, “tammika” and “thamikka”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.