kif kif كيف كيف
Tunisian Derja · expression
“kif kif” (كيف كيف) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning the same, the same thing.
Meanings
- the same, the same thing
- in the same way
Usage
Kif kif means "the same" or "it's the same thing". It is used alone as a reply: kif kif!, or after a noun: homa kif kif, "they are the same". It often expresses indifference: kif kif 3andi, "it's all the same to me". It is also found in comparisons: kif kif kif bouh, "exactly like his father". The expression has passed into informal French ("c'est kif-kif") with the same meaning. In derja, however, it is more frequent and more neutral than in French, where it sounds slangy.
Example
الزوز كيف كيف، اختار اللي يعجبك
ez-zouz kif kif, a5tar elli y3ajbek
“The two are the same, choose the one you like.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kif kif” but also “kif kef”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kif kif” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “the same, alike”; “I don't mind, it's all the same to me”: kif kif in Algerian.