yamma يما
Tunisian Derja · noun
“yamma” (يما) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning mom (when addressing her).
Meanings
- mom (when addressing her)
- exclamation of surprise or pain
Usage
Yamma is used to call one's mother, especially as a form of address: "yamma, win el mfete7?" (mom, where are the keys?). It is heard in families, in popular songs and in poetry, with a tender or plaintive nuance. It also works as an exclamation, "yamma!", for surprise, fear or pain, a bit like "oh my God!". To talk about one's mother without addressing her, people say ommi instead. Note: the sentences in the corpus come from other dialects, where "ya ma" has a different meaning.
Example
يمّا، شنوّة طيّبت اليوم؟
yamma, chnowa tayabt el youm?
“Mom, what did you cook today?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “yamma” but also “yemma”, “yama” and “yema”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “yamma” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “mom, mother”; “a yemma: exclamation of surprise or fright”: yemma in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “mom, my mother”; “exclamation of surprise or distress”: yemma in Algerian.