madi ماضي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“madi” (ماضي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning the past.
Meanings
- the past
- sharp (blade)
Usage
As a noun, lmadi means the past, especially in phrases like "f lmadi", "in the past", or "nsa lmadi", "forget the past". The register is fairly formal. In daily speech, people often say "li fat", "what has passed", or "zman", "long ago". Used as an adjective, madi describes a sharp blade: "lmus madi", "the knife cuts well". Figuratively, it can describe a sharp or resourceful person. Context tells the two uses apart.
Example
خلّي الماضي فالماضي وشوف قدّامك.
khlli lmadi f lmadi w chouf 9eddamek.
“Leave the past in the past and look ahead.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “madi” but also “maadi”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “madi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “past, after (time)”; “the past”: madhi in Tunisian.