kif كيف
Tunisian Derja · preposition
“kif” (كيف) is a preposition in Tunisian Derja meaning like, same as.
Meanings
- like, same as
- when
Usage
Kif means above all "like", for comparing: "kif weld 3ami" (like my uncle's son), "kif kif" (the same). Followed by a verb, it takes a temporal sense: "kif kan sghir" (when he was little), "kif twassel kallemni" (when you arrive, call me). Kif does not mean "how"; the question "how?" is kifech. The expression "kif ba3dhhom" means "all the same". It combines with pronouns: kifi (like me), kifek (like you).
Example
و ولدي ولّى يقول لي اشري لي كيف ولد عمي
W weldi walla y9oli echrili kif weld 3ami
“And my son started saying to me: buy me one like my uncle's son has.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kif” but also “kiff” and “kf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kif” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “like, similar to”; “how (in greetings)”: kif in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “how”; “like, similar to”: kif in Algerian.