ki كي
Algerian Darja · conjunction
“ki” (كي) is a conjunction in Algerian Darja meaning when, at the time that.
Meanings
- when, at the time that
- like, as
- how
Usage
Ki most often introduces a clause of time: ki tji (when you come), ki kont sghir (when I was little). It can also express comparison, in the sense of "like": ki nta (like you). In this sense, kima is also used. Finally, it appears in the greeting ki rak? / ki raki? (how are you?), where it means "how". Context tells you which meaning is intended.
Example
كي تجي عيطلي.
ki tji 3ayetli.
“Call me when you arrive.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ki” but also “kii” and “kie”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ki” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “when, whenever”; “like, as”: ki in Tunisian.