Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Numbers
1: Wahed
2: jooj
3: tlaeta
4: r-baa
5: khamsa
6: sstaa
7: ssbeaa
8: temniya
9: tseud
10: eshra
A lot: Bzaaf
A little: shwiya
Shopping:
Corner store: Hanut
Weekly large market: Souq
Milk: Helib
Bread: khobs
Butter: Zibda
Coffee: Kahuwa
Apples: Tfah
Bananas: Banan
Beef: Bagri
Chicken: Djej
Onions: Bisla
Potatoes: Batata
Carrots: Khizu
Tea: A-tay
Peanuts: Caucau
Yogurt: Danon
Tissues: Kleenex
Cough drops: Halls
Pads (feminine product): Always (as in the brand)
I want: Bghit
Give me (used like can I have): Etini
How much?: Bish-hal?
Money: Floos
Other important things:
The name of the currency is dirham, and there are roughly 10 dirhams to
one US dollar
People also quote prices in ryals, which is an old currency. There are 20
ryals in a dirham, so its equivalent to receiving the price in nickels. For
example, a 100 ryal kilogram of apples is 5 dirham, or $0.50. A 400 ryal
shirt is 20 dirham, or $2.00.
French will usually work, especially in the big cities and for basic things.
Most people will appreciate even one or two words in Darija, so dont be
shy!
In the big cities, it is likely that someone around you speaks at least a little
English.
Arabic has different letters than the English/Latin alphabet. In this list, I
have modified the letters to make sense to an American reader. However,
some of the letters do not translate perfectly. Consequentially, sometimes
you will say a word perfectly, and someone will not understand you. For
example, I still cant manage say eggs correctly. However, this list is, in
my opinion, a pretty good phonetic representation of the most common
words and phrases, and most people should understand.
The letters that are hard, but most important (in my opinion):
o gh should sound a bit like a gargle, or a deeper version of the
French r
o kh is like the ch in yech. It is deep in your throat.
Want more? Some books that are popular amongst Peace Corps
volunteers are:
o Shnoo the Hell is Going on Hnaa? A Practical Guide to Learning
Moroccan Darija (Shnoo means what, and Hnaa means here)
o Lonely Planets Phrasebook: Moroccan Arabic.
Other good Into to Morocco books:
o Culture Shock: Morocco (this is my absolute favorite, I still go back
to it)
o The Rough Guide to Morocco
o Lonely Planet: Travel Guide to Morocco