3ad عاد

Moroccan Darija · adverb

“3ad” (عاد) is an adverb in Moroccan Darija meaning just, a moment ago.

Meanings

1. just, a moment ago
2. then, only then

Usage

3ad is placed before a perfect-tense verb to mark an action that has only just happened: "3ad wṣelt" (I just arrived). Before an imperfect verb, it indicates what comes next, often conditionally: "kmmel, 3ad nmšiw" (finish, then we'll go). With "7ta", it takes the sense of "only then": "7ta ja 3ad bdina". Both uses are very frequent in speech and belong to no particular register.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ad” but also “3aad”, “ad”, “3ade” and “3d”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.

Type “3ad” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “only then, at last”; “just (recently)”: 3ad in Algerian.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “so, then, come on (emphasis)”; “no longer (with negation)”: 3ad in Tunisian.