kach wa7ed كاش واحد
Algerian Darja · pronoun
“kach wa7ed” (كاش واحد) is a pronoun in Algerian Darja meaning someone.
Meanings
- someone
- anyone (in a question)
Usage
It is formed from "kach" (a certain, some) and "waḥed" (one). It is the common indefinite pronoun for "someone". It often appears in questions: "kach waḥed ya3ref?" (does anyone know?), a very frequent formula on social media. With negation, "ḥetta waḥed" is preferred for "nobody". "Kach" combines with other words: "kach ḥaja" (something), "kach blasa" (somewhere). The register is informal-neutral, usable everywhere.
Example
كاش واحد يعرف وين نلقى صيدلية حالة؟
kach wa7ed ya3ref win nelqa pharmacie 7alla?
“Does anyone know where I can find an open pharmacy?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kach wa7ed” but also “kech wa7ed”, “kach wahed”, “kech wahed” and “kch wa7ed”. 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.