g3ad قعد
Algerian Darja · verb
“g3ad” (قعد) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to stay, remain somewhere.
Meanings
- to stay, remain somewhere
- to keep on, go on (doing)
- to sit down
Usage
The verb g3ad, pronounced with a g in much of the country and with a q or k elsewhere, first means to stay: "g3adt fed-dar" (I stayed at home). Followed by a verb in the imperfect, it marks an action that lasts or repeats: "g3ad ychouf fih" (he kept looking at him, he wouldn't stop looking at him). This auxiliary use is very frequent in storytelling. The sense "to sit down" exists but is less common than djles. Pitfall for an English speaker: with another verb, g3ad does not mean to sit; it indicates the duration of the action.
Example
قعد يستنى فيها ساعة كاملة
g3ad yestanna fiha sa3a kamla
“He kept waiting for her for a whole hour.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “g3ad” but also “k3ad”, “kaad”, “gaad” and “q3ad”. 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 “g3ad” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to sit down”; “to stay, remain”: 9a3ed in Tunisian.