khdem خدم
Algerian Darja · verb
“khdem” (خدم) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to work.
Meanings
- to work
- to function, run (device)
- to employ, to put to work
Usage
Khdem is the usual verb for "to work": nekhdem fel-batima (I work in construction). It is also used for a device: et-tilifoun ma khdemch (the phone doesn't work). With an object, it means "to employ": khdemni 3andou (he hired me at his place). The noun khedma means work or a job. The expression khdem rasek means "fend for yourself, work for yourself". Do not confuse it with khdma, "to serve", which is more restricted in use.
Example
نخدم في الصباح ونقرا في العشية
nekhdem fe sbah w nqra fel 3achiya
“I work in the morning and study in the afternoon.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khdem” but also “khdam”, “5dem” and “khedem”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khdem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to work”; “to employ, hire (khddem)”: khdem in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to work”; “to function, to run (device)”: 5dem in Tunisian.