wahed واحد
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“wahed” (واحد) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning one (number).
Meanings
- one (number)
- a, an (indefinite article)
- someone, a person
Usage
Wa7ed is the number "one"; its feminine is wa7da. Before a definite noun, it serves as an indefinite article: wa7ed rrajel ("a man"), wa7ed lbent ("a girl"). Alone, it can mean "someone": ja wa7ed ("someone came"). Kol wa7ed means "everyone", and 7ta wa7ed, with a negation, means "nobody". Pitfall: with the indefinite article, the noun keeps the article l-, which surprises an English speaker. To tell the time, use lwa7da ("one o'clock").
Example
عطيني واحد الخبزة
3tini wa7ed lkhobza
“Give me a loaf of bread.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wahed” but also “wa7ed”, “wahd”, “wa7d” and “wahid”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “wahed” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “one (number)”; “a, a certain (indefinite article)”: wahed in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “one (number), only one”; “someone, a person”: wa7ed in Tunisian.