ma9aderch ماقادرش
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“ma9aderch” (ماقادرش) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning unable, cannot.
Meanings
- unable, cannot
- at the end of one's strength
Usage
Ma9aderch is the negative form of the participle 9ader (able): "I can't, I'm not able to". The word agrees: ma9adrach in the feminine, ma9adrinch in the plural. It is often followed by an imperfect verb with no particle: ma9aderch nji (I can't come). Used on its own, it expresses exhaustion or weariness: safi, ma9aderch (that's enough, I can't take any more). It is very common in all registers. The negation brackets the word (ma… ch). The participle is used where English would use a conjugated verb.
Example
ماقادرش نجي غدا، عندي الخدمة
ma9aderch nji ghedda, 3ndi lkhedma
“I can't come tomorrow, I have work.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma9aderch” but also “ma9adrch”, “maqadrch”, “ma9adersh” and “makadrch”. 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.