kado كادو
Algerian Darja · noun
“kado” (كادو) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning gift, present.
Meanings
- gift, present
- free, complimentary (as a bonus)
Usage
Kado is a French loanword fully integrated into everyday speech. The plural is kadowat or kadouyet. Typical phrases are dar kado (to give a gift), jabli kado (he brought me a gift) and kado l'3id (a holiday gift). Used as a predicate, it means "free, given as a gift": had el haja kado (this is free, it's a bonus). The word is also used for wedding gifts and newborn gifts. The Arabic term hdiya exists, but kado is the most spontaneous in speech.
Example
جبتلها كادو في عيد ميلادها.
jebtelha kado f 3id miladha.
“I brought her a gift for her birthday.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kado” but also “cado”, “kadoo”, “cadeau” and “qado”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kado” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “gift, present”: kado in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “gift, present”; “freebie, something free”: kado in Tunisian.