3dou عدو
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3dou” (عدو) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning enemy.
Meanings
- enemy
- adversary, hostile person
Usage
3dou means the enemy, in the personal as well as the collective sense. The plural is l3diyan, and the form 3doui means "my enemy". It appears in expressions such as 3dou llah, "enemy of God", for someone hateful. Beware of a frequent homograph: 3eddo (عضّو) means "he bit him". This is the verb in the proverb li 3eddo l7nech kaykhaf mn l7bel, "he whom the snake has bitten is afraid of the rope". In Latin letters the two words are easily confused.
Example
أنا ماعندي عدو
ana ma3endi 3dou
“Me, I have no enemy.”
Forms
| feminine | 3adowwa |
|---|---|
| plural | a3da2 |
| feminine plural | 3adowwat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3dou” but also “3dow”, “3do”, “3adou” and “3adow”. 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 “3dou” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “enemy”; “hostile; adversary”: 3dou in Tunisian.