goddam قدام
Algerian Darja · preposition
“goddam” (قدام) is a preposition in Algerian Darja meaning in front of (in space).
Meanings
- in front of (in space)
- in the presence of, before someone
- ahead, forward (adverb)
Usage
Goddam (with a hard g in much of the country, q elsewhere) is the common preposition for "in front of": goddam eddar, "in front of the house". It also applies to people, in the sense of "in the presence of": ma tahderch goddam yemma, "don't talk in front of my mother". It takes suffixed pronouns: goddami, "in front of me", goddamek, "in front of you". Used alone, the word serves as an adverb: rouh goddam, "go ahead". The opposite is mor or wra, "behind". The doubled d marks the pronunciation and should be kept.
Example
راني واقف قدام الدار
rani wa9ef goddam eddar
“I'm standing in front of the house.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “goddam” but also “9oddam”, “godam”, “qoddam” and “gouddam”. 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.
Type “goddam” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “in front of, facing”; “ahead, forward”: 9dam in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “in front of, facing”; “ahead, in the future”: 9oddem in Tunisian.