geddach ڨداش
Algerian Darja · adverb
“geddach” (ڨداش) is an adverb in Algerian Darja meaning how much, how many (quantity, price).
Meanings
- how much, how many (quantity, price)
- how long, for how long
- how, how much (exclamatory)
Usage
Geddach is the interrogative of quantity specific to eastern Algeria (Constantine, Annaba, Tebessa, Souk Ahras…), where Algiers and the west say chhal instead. It is used to ask a price (geddach hada?), a quantity or a duration (geddach w ana nkhammem fiha: how long I have been thinking about it). The initial g corresponds to the qaf pronounced "g" in these dialects and is often written ڨ. It can be followed directly by a noun (geddach men wahed?). Someone from Algiers understands it but immediately identifies it as an eastern word.
Example
ڨداش هذا السروال؟
geddach hada sserwal?
“How much are these trousers?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “geddach” but also “gueddach”, “gaddach”, “9eddach” and “qeddach”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.