kadali

Cebuano word: “kadali”
an adverb (and sometimes noun phrase “sa kadali”) that means “for a moment / very quickly / briefly.”

1 Part of speech, meaning, and example sentences

• Part of speech: adverb of short duration (also a noun phrase when used with sa)
• Meaning: indicates an action that takes only a moment or lasts a very short time.
• Example sentences
  1. Hulat lang kadali – “Wait just a moment.”
  2. Mi-lakaw ko kadali para mopalit ug tubig. – “I stepped out briefly to buy water.”
  3. Nawagtang kadali ang kuryente kagabii. – “The power went out for a moment last night.”

2 Learning tips for “kadali” and time expressions

1. Duration scale: kadali (“a moment”) ≪ usahay (“sometimes”) ≪ kanunay (“always”).
2. Placement: Usually sits before the main verb or after the imperative (e.g., Paabot kadali).
3. With sa: sa kadali acts like “for a short while”: Mopahulay ko sa kadali (“I’ll rest for a bit”).
4. Avoid redundancy: Don’t pair kadali with “minute” (minuto)—that becomes usa ka minuto.
5. Colloquial intensifier: kadali ra kaayo (“so very quick”).

3 Common collocations

• paabot kadali – wait a moment
• kadali ra – only a moment / very briefly
• sa kadali – for a short while
• balik kadali – come back quickly
• kadali lang – just a sec

4 Typical sentence position

1. After imperative (very common): Sshh, kadali lang.
2. Before verb group: Mi-gawas kadali si Ana.
3. Sentence-initial (emphatic): Kadali ra ko, balik ko dayon.

5 Five handy conversational phrases

• Kadali lang ha, kuhaon nako ang papel. – “Just a moment, I’ll get the paper.”
• Pasayloa ko, na-late ko kadali. – “Sorry, I was only a little late.”
• Mu-text ko nimo kadali ra human sa miting. – “I’ll text you shortly after the meeting.”
• Pwede nimo i-check kadali ang email? – “Can you quickly check the e-mail?”
• Mag-pahulay ta sa kadali ug inom ta’g tubig. – “Let’s rest for a bit and drink water.”

6 Five short dialogue exchanges

1. A: Hapit na ta?
   B: Oo, kadali na lang, abot na ta.
   – “A: Are we near? B: Yes, just a moment more and we’ll arrive.”
2. A: Mawala ko kadali, ayaw i-lock ang pultahan.
   B: Okey, ako rang bantayan.
   – “A: I’ll step out briefly; don’t lock the door. B: OK, I’ll watch it.”
3. A: Nganong wala pa nimo gi-send ang file?
   B: Nag-upload pa; kadali ra mahuman ni.
   – “A: Why haven’t you sent the file? B: It’s uploading; it will finish in a moment.”
4. A: Makapangutana ko nimo?
   B: Sure, sa kadali lang kay busy ko.
   – “A: May I ask you something? B: Sure, but only for a short while because I’m busy.”
5. A: Na-ana ka sa opisina?
   B: Wala pa, pero kadali ra ko mu-abot.
   – “A: Are you at the office already? B: Not yet, but I’ll arrive shortly.”

7 Multiple-choice dialogue questions

(Each question is interrogative; three answer choices all include kadali. One sentence per set is correctly ordered; correct letters vary.)

Q1. Unsa’y imong buhaton kadali ra human klase?
A. Kadali ra buhaton nako ang homework human klase.
B. Buhaton nako kadali ra ang homework human klase.
C. Human klase kadali ra buhaton homework nako.

Q2. Maka-hulat ba ka kadali?
A. Ka kadali ba maka-hulat?
B. Maka-hulat ka kadali ba?
C. Maka-hulat ba ka kadali?

Q3. Kinsa’y mo-kuha kadali sa dokumento?
A. Kadali mo-kuha si Ana sa dokumento.
B. Mo-kuha si Ana kadali sa dokumento.
C. Sa dokumento mo-kuha kadali si Ana.

Q4. Asa ka mo-adto sa kadali?
A. Mo-adto ko sa kadali sa kantina.
B. Sa kantina sa kadali ko mo-adto.
C. Sa kadali mo-adto ko kantina sa.

Q5. Ganahan ba siya mo-istorya kadali?
A. Mo-istorya ganahan siya kadali.
B. Kadali mo-istorya siya ganahan.
C. Ganahan siya mo-istorya kadali.

Answer key (with brief explanations)