How to say “this” in Darija
In Moroccan, you say “had”; in Algerian, “had” and “hada”; in Tunisian, “hedhaya”, “hedha”, “hedh”, “hedha” and “hal”.
In Moroccan Darija
had هاد
An adjective meaning “this, these (demonstrative)”.
شد هاد طريق: “Take this road.”
In Algerian Darja
had هاد
A pronoun meaning “this (demonstrative)”.
هاد الطوموبيل جديدة: “This car is new.”
hada هدا
A pronoun meaning “this, this one (masculine)”; “this (before a noun)”; “this one, he”.
هدا هو الدار تاعي: “This is it, my house.”
In Tunisian Derja
hedhaya هاذاية
A pronoun meaning “this, that (thing mentioned)”; “this one (masculine, emphatic)”; “this, that (after the noun)”.
هاذاية الكل لازمنا نحضروه قبل الغدوة.: “We have to prepare all of this before tomorrow.”
hedha هدا
A pronoun meaning “this, this one (masculine)”; “this (before a noun)”.
هدا الكتاب متاعي.: “This book is mine.”
hedh هاذ
A pronoun meaning “this (masculine demonstrative)”; “this (is) (presentational pronoun)”.
الكتاب هاذ متاعي.: “This book is mine.”
hedha هاذا
A pronoun meaning “this one, this, it's”; “this (determiner)”; “this one… that one (in a list)”.
هاذا الصباح متاع حبنا: “This is the morning of our love.”
hal هال
A pronoun meaning “this, these (demonstrative)”; “hall (loanword, in names)”.
شبيهم هال ناس؟: “What's wrong with these people?”