3and عند
Algerian Darja · preposition
“3and” (عند) is a preposition in Algerian Darja meaning at (someone's place), with.
Meanings
- at (someone's place), with
- to have (with suffix pronoun)
- at the time of, during
Usage
A very common preposition. Followed by a person's name or noun, it means "at (someone's place)": "rouh 3and tbib" (go to the doctor's). With a suffix pronoun, it expresses possession and replaces the verb "to have": "3andi" (I have), "3andek" (you have), "3andou" (he has). The negation is formed with "ma... ch": "ma 3andich" (I don't have). An English speaker must remember that there is no common verb "to have": "3and" is always used. The temporal sense ("at the time of") belongs more to a formal register.
Example
عندي زوج خاوة
3endi zouj khawa
“I have two brothers.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3and” but also “3end”, “3nd”, “and” and “3endi”. 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 “3and” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “at, with (someone's place)”; “to have (with suffix pronoun)”: 3end in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to have (with suffixed pronoun)”; “at someone's place”: 3andi in Tunisian.