نميمة
“نميمة” (намима) — gossip in Arabic. Noun, level B1. Do not confuse it with the rumor you know: a rumor comes from outside, gossip grows in the yard. The gossip-monger is named nammaam — and that is one of the gravest words. In a live sentence: “نميمة الجيران ممنوعة” — The neighbours' gossip is forbidden. Written with the characters ن, م, ي, م, ة. A word from the everyday Arabic course, level B1.
In short
| Written in Arabic | نميمة |
| Read in Latin letters | намима |
| Translation | gossip |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Do not confuse it with the rumor you know: a rumor comes from outside, gossip grows in the yard. The gossip-monger is named nammaam — and that is one of the gravest words
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- نميمة الجيران ممنوعةнамимат аль-джираан мамнууʿаThe neighbours' gossip is forbidden
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “gossip” in Arabic?
«نميمة», read “намима”. In a live sentence: “نميمة الجيران ممنوعة” — The neighbours' gossip is forbidden. Noun, level B1; written with the characters ن, م, ي, م, ة.
How is “نميمة” written in Latin letters?
намима. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Do not confuse it with the rumor you know: a rumor comes from outside, gossip grows in the yard. The gossip-monger is named nammaam — and that is one of the gravest words. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.