hdem هدم
Moroccan Darija · verb
“hdem” (هدم) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to demolish, tear down (a building).
Meanings
- to demolish, tear down (a building)
- to destroy, ruin
Usage
Hdem is used first of all for buildings: walls, houses, neighbourhoods being torn down. The present tense is kayhdem, and the passive is thdem ("to be demolished"). Figuratively, it means to destroy something one had built, such as a project or a relationship. This sense is less common than the literal one. Be careful not to confuse it with hder ("to speak"): the two are written similarly in arabizi. The digit 8 is sometimes used to write h, hence the spelling 8dem.
Example
هدمو الدار القديمة ديال جدي
hedmo ddar l9dima dyal jeddi
“They demolished my grandfather's old house.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan8dem | 8demt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat8dem | 8demti | 8dem |
| nti (you, f.) | kat8dmi | 8demti | 8dmi |
| howa (he) | kay8dem | 8dem | |
| hiya (she) | kat8dem | 8dmat | |
| 7na (we) | kan8dmo | 8dmna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat8dmo | 8dmto | 8dmo |
| homa (they) | kay8dmo | 8dmo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hdem” but also “8dem”, “hdm” and “8dm”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.