kach 7adja كاش حاجة
Algerian Darja · expression
“kach 7adja” (كاش حاجة) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning something.
Meanings
- something
- anything (in questions)
Usage
Kach hadja means "something", with the indefinite sense of kach, "some" or "any", followed by hadja, "thing". It is a very common phrase in everyday speech. In a question, it takes the sense of "anything": tehtaj kach hadja?, "do you need anything?". In the negative, people say walou or ma kan walou for "nothing". Kach also combines with other nouns, such as kach wahed, "someone", or kach nhar, "some day".
Example
تحتاج كاش حاجة من الحانوت؟
te7taj kach 7adja men el 7anout?
“Do you need anything from the shop?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kach 7adja” but also “kech 7adja”, “kach hadja”, “kach 7aja” and “kech 7aja”. 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.