kifach كيفاش
Moroccan Darija · adverb
“kifach” (كيفاش) is an adverb in Moroccan Darija meaning how (question).
Meanings
- how (question)
- how come, why
Usage
Kifach is the interrogative adverb of manner, the everyday equivalent of "how". It is used in direct questions (kifach jiti ? — how did you come?) or indirect ones, after a verb: ma 3reftch kifach (I don't know how). With a tone of surprise or reproach, it takes on the meaning of "how come, why": kifach ma jitich ? (how come you didn't come?). Don't confuse it with kif ma, which means "as/like" and asks no question. To ask how someone is doing, say kidayr ? or labas ? instead.
Example
كيفاش ناخد قرضي
kifach nakhod kridi
“How do I get my loan?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kifach” but also “kifash”, “kifech” and “kifch”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kifach” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “how (interrogative)”; “how come? why on earth?”: kifach in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “how, in what way”; “how come? (astonishment)”: kifech in Tunisian.