kado كادو
Moroccan Darija · noun
“kado” (كادو) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning gift, present.
Meanings
- gift, present
Usage
Kado is an adapted loanword from the French "cadeau", very commonly used and often preferred to the Arabic hdiya. It is used with jab ("to bring"), 3ta ("to give") or chra ("to buy"): 3tah kado. The expression b kado means "for free, as a gift". The plural is kadowat or kadoyat. Hdiya remains more formal or is used in formal contexts. Note: in arabizi, many people simply write "cadeau" the French way, but the pronunciation remains kado.
Example
جاب ليّا كادو
jab liyya kado
“He brought me a gift.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kado” but also “cadeau”, “cado”, “kadou”, “kadoo” and “kaddo”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find كادو and كاضو, all the same word.
Type “kado” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “gift, present”; “free, complimentary (as a bonus)”: kado in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “gift, present”; “freebie, something free”: kado in Tunisian.