hada هدا
Algerian Darja · pronoun
“hada” (هدا) is a pronoun in Algerian Darja meaning this, this one (masculine).
Meanings
- this, this one (masculine)
- this (before a noun)
- this one, he
Usage
Hada is the masculine singular demonstrative for near things. The feminine is hadi, the plural hadou. Before a noun, the noun takes the article: hada rajel (this man), hada lbab (this door). Used alone, it means "this" or "this one": hada wach habit (this is what I wanted). The Arabic spelling with د instead of ذ is very common online, because a d is often what is pronounced. It is a basic word used in all registers.
Example
هدا هو الدار تاعي
hada howa ddar ta3i
“This is it, my house.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hada” but also “hadha”, “hadaa”, “hedha” and “hadda”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find هدا and هادا, all the same word.
Type “hada” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written هادا, where it means “this one, this, it is”: hada in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “this, this one (masculine)”; “this (before a noun)”: hedha in Tunisian.