9ader قادر
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“9ader” (قادر) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning capable, able to do.
Meanings
- capable, able to do
- can, to be able to
- to bear, to stand (negative)
Usage
9ader is the participle that serves as the everyday verb "can". It agrees with the subject: 9ader (masculine), 9adra (feminine), 9adrin (plural). It is used mostly followed by a conjugated verb: 9ader nji, "I can come". The most frequent form is the negative mech 9ader or ma9adrech, "I can't". It is also used to say you can't stand something: mech 9ader nbal3ha, "I can't swallow it, I can't stomach it". The pitfall is to see it only as the adjective "capable", when it most often works as a verb.
Example
مش قادر نجي اليوم، تعبان برشة.
mech 9ader nji lyoum, ta3ben barcha.
“I can't come today, I'm very tired.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ader” but also “qader”, “9adir”, “kader”, “qadir” and “qder”. 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.