9dam قدام
Moroccan Darija · preposition
“9dam” (قدام) is a preposition in Moroccan Darija meaning in front of, facing.
Meanings
- in front of, facing
- ahead, forward
Usage
9eddam is the usual preposition for "in front of": w9ef 9eddam ddar, "he stopped in front of the house". It combines with suffixed pronouns: 9eddami (in front of me), 9eddamek (in front of you), 9eddamu (in front of him). Used alone, it can mean "forward": zid l9eddam, "move forward". Mn 9eddam means "from the front" or "out of my sight". Its opposite is mor (behind). The word is also used figuratively for "in the presence of": hder 9eddam nnas, "to speak in front of people", or kat7chem 9eddam nnas, "she is shy in public".
Example
وقف قدام القاضي
w9af 9dam l9adi
“He stood in front of the judge.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9dam” but also “9eddam”, “9ddam”, “gddam”, “9oddam” and “9edam”. 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 “9dam” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “in front of (in space)”; “in the presence of, before someone”: goddam in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “in front of, facing”; “ahead, in the future”: 9oddem in Tunisian.