hdid حديد
Algerian Darja · noun
“hdid” (حديد) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning iron (metal).
Meanings
- iron (metal)
- scrap metal, construction bars
- steel
Usage
Hdid means iron in general: the metal, iron objects, the reinforcing bars used on building sites and scrap metal sold by weight. It is a word of all registers, the same in darja and standard Arabic in meaning. People say "bab ta3 hdid" for a metal door and "ybi3 hdid" for someone who sells scrap metal. For steel, the French word "acier" is often used, or simply hdid. Figuratively, "rass hdid" describes a stubborn or very resilient person. Rust is called sedda or rouille, not hdid.
Example
الباب هذا تاع حديد، ثقيل بزاف
el bab hada ta3 hdid, t9il bezzaf
“This door is made of iron, it's very heavy.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hdid” but also “hdide”, “7did”, “hadid” and “hdeed”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “hdid” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “iron (metal)”; “steel, scrap metal”: 7did in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “iron (metal)”; “steel; metal in general”: 7did in Tunisian.