Moroccan Darija for travellers: the words you will actually use

Moroccans speak Darija, an Arabic so different from the standard form that many Arabic speakers from the Middle East struggle with it. It mixes in Amazigh (Berber) and French words, and people switch into French mid-sentence all the time. You don't need much of it. These are the words that come up every day.

Greetings

• Salām or salām ʿalaykum: hello. The full form is warmer.
• Labās?: how are you? The usual answer is labās, l-ḥamdu lillāh, "fine, thank God".
• Bslāma: goodbye.

The small words that smooth everything

• ʿAfāk: please. Add it to almost any request.
• Shukran: thank you. Barak llāhu fīk is warmer.
• Smeḥ liya: sorry, excuse me.
• Wakha: OK.
• Safi: that's it, enough, done. You will hear it constantly.
• La, shukran: no, thank you. Useful, said calmly, with persistent touts.

In the souk

• Bshḥāl?: how much?
• Ghāli bzzāf: too expensive.
• Naqqeṣ shwiya: lower it a little.
• Watch the units. Prices are sometimes quoted in rial, an old unit where 20 rial make 1 dirham, so "100" can mean 5 dirhams. If a number sounds oddly high, ask "dirham?".

Taxis and tea

• In a city petit taxi, ask for the meter: compteur, ʿafāk.
• Dīni l-…: take me to…, followed by the place.
• Mint tea comes very sweet. Bla sukkar means "without sugar", or ask for shwiya d sukkar, a little sugar.

Reading Darija online

On phones, Darija is often typed in Latin letters with numbers for Arabic sounds: 3 for ع, 7 for ح and 9 for ق. So 3afak is ʿafāk.

When you need more

The Moroccan Darija phrasebook has 30 phrases with audio. For a full conversation, Parlo's Darija translator translates into Darija and back, read aloud. Before you go, see the Morocco travel tips.