qdim قديم
Algerian Darja · adjective
“qdim” (قديم) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning old (thing).
Meanings
- old (thing)
- long-standing, former
- outdated, old-fashioned
Usage
Qdim (feminine qdima, plural qdam) mainly describes objects, houses, habits or things of the past. For an elderly person, kbir or cheikh is used instead. Qdim can also describe someone who has long been in a place or group, for example a longtime subscriber or a former employee. The expression "men zman" or "zman qdim" refers to the old days, notably at the start of tales. Depending on the region, you hear [qdim] or [gdim]. In written arabizi, the q is often written 9 or k.
Example
هاد الطوموبيل قديمة بزاف
had tomobil qdima bezzaf
“This car is very old.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “qdim” but also “kdim”, “9dim”, “gdim” and “qdima”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “qdim” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “old, long-standing”; “old-fashioned, outdated”: 9dim in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “old, worn (object)”; “ancient, of former times”: 9dim in Tunisian.