Word Order and Sentence Building

Moroccan Arabic (Darija) is relatively flexible with word order compared to English.

While English typically follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) pattern ("Ahmed eats an apple"), Darija can use both SVO and Verb-Subject-Object (VSO).

In nominal sentences (sentences describing a state or quality without an action verb), the verb "to be" is implied in the present tense, meaning you simply place the subject next to the adjective or noun.

For beginners, the safest structure to start with is Subject-Verb-Object, as it mirrors English.

However, you will frequently hear native speakers place the verb first to emphasize the action.

Adjectives usually come after the noun they modify, which is the opposite of English (e.g., "House big" instead of "Big house").

Examples:

• .‏احمد كلا تفاحة‏ (Ahmed kla teffaha) Translation: Ahmed ate an apple. (SVO)

• .‏كلا احمد تفاحة‏ (Kla Ahmed teffaha) Translation: Ahmed ate an apple. (VSO - Action emphasized)

• .‏انا مشيت للسوق‏ (Ana mshit l-s-suq) Translation: I went to the market.

• .‏الدار كبيرة‏ (D-dar kbira) Translation: The house is big. (Implied "is")

• .‏الرجل طويل‏ (R-rajel twil) Translation: The man is tall.

• .‏فاطمة زوينة‏ (Fatima zwina) Translation: Fatima is beautiful.

• .‏الكتاب فوق الطبلة‏ (L-ktab fuq t-tabla) Translation: The book is on the table.

• ‏شنو سميتك؟‏‏ (Shnu smitek?) Translation: What is your name?

• .‏بسلامة‏ (Bslama) Translation: Goodbye (literally "With safety").

• .‏شكرا بزاف‏ (Shukran bzzaf) Translation: Thank you very much.

• .‏سمح ليا‏ (SmaH liya) Translation: Excuse me / Forgive me.

Making Positive Statements

To make positive statements in Darija, you simply state the subject and the predicate.

If you are describing someone or something in the present moment (e.g., "I am tired"), you do not use a word for "am", "is", or "are".

You simply say "I tired".

For action verbs, you conjugate the verb according to the subject.

We will cover full verb conjugation in later chapters, but for now, focus on the structure.

The subject pronoun (I, you, he) is often dropped if the verb conjugation makes it clear who is speaking.

Examples:

• .‏انا فرحان‏ (Ana ferḥan) Translation: I am happy. (Male speaker)

• .‏هي طبيبة‏ (Hiya Tbiba) Translation: She is a doctor.

• .‏حنا في الدار‏ (Hna f-dar) Translation: We are at home.

• .‏هو كيقرا كتاب‏ (Huwa kay-qra ktab) Translation: He is reading a book.

• .‏نتوما مزيانين‏ (Ntuma mzyanin) Translation: You (plural) are good.

• .‏الجو زوين اليوم‏ (L-jaw zwin l-yum) Translation: The weather is nice today.

• .‏كانبغي القهوة‏ (Kan-bghi l-qahwa) Translation: I like coffee.

• .‏شريت تريكو جديد‏ (Shrit trico jdid) Translation: I bought a new sweater.

Forming Negatives and Questions

Negation in Darija is unique and distinct from Standard Arabic.

To negate a verb, you usually wrap it in a "sandwich" using the particles ma ... sh (often written as ma ... ch). For non-verbal predicates such as nouns and adjectives, use mashi.

For example, "I know" is kan-‘rf, but "I don't know" is ma-kan-‘rf-sh.

In rapid speech, the closing sh is very prominent.

To form questions, there are two main ways.

For Yes/No questions, you can place the particle Wash at the beginning of the sentence, or use question intonation without Wash.

Wash functions like "Do/Does/Is" in English questions.

For open-ended questions, you use question words like Shnu (What), Fin (Where), or Shkun (Who).

Intonation also rises at the end of the sentence.

Examples (Negatives):

• .‏ماكليتش‏ (Ma-klit-sh) Translation: I didn't eat.

• .‏ماهضرتش‏ (Ma-hdert-sh) Translation: I didn't speak.

• .‏مافهمتش‏ (Ma-fhemt-sh) Translation: I didn't understand.

• .‏ماشي مشكيل‏ (Mashi mushkil) Translation: It is not a problem. (Note: Mashi is used to negate nouns/adjectives).

• .‏انا ماشي عيان‏ (Ana mashi ‘iyan) Translation: I am not tired.

• .‏ماعندي ش فلوس‏ (Ma-3ndi-sh flus) Translation: I don't have money.

Examples (Questions):

• ‏واش نتا مزيان؟‏‏ (wash nta mzyan?) Translation: Are you good?

• ‏واش كليتي؟‏‏ (wash kliti?) Translation: Did you eat?

• ‏واش هادا ديالك؟‏‏ (wash hada dyalk?) Translation: Is this yours?

• ‏واش كتهضر ن‏ݣ‏ليزية؟‏‏ (wash kat-hder nglizya?) Translation: Do you speak English?

• ‏فين الدار؟‏‏ (Fin d-dar?) Translation: Where is the house?

• ‏شنو درتي؟‏‏ (Shnu derti?) Translation: What did you do?

• ‏شكون هادا؟‏‏ (Shkun hada?) Translation: Who is this?

• ‏فوقاش تجي؟‏‏ (Fuqash tji?) Translation: When will you come?

• ‏علاش لا؟‏‏ (3lash la?) Translation: Why not?

Nouns: Gender and Number

In Darija, every noun is either Masculine or Feminine.

There is no neuter grammatical gender. Nouns are either masculine or feminine, and pronouns referring to things follow the noun’s grammatical gender.

Generally, nouns ending in an -a sound written with ‏ة‏ (ta marbuta) are feminine.

Most other nouns are masculine.

Plurals are formed in three ways:

1- Sound Masculine Plural: Adding -in to the end (e.g., M3allem -> M3allmin).

2- Regular Plural with -at: Adding -at to the end (e.g., Tomobil -> Tomobilat).

3- Broken Plural: The internal structure of the word changes entirely. This is very common and must be memorized (e.g., Dar -> Dyor).

Examples:

• ‏ولد‏ (Weld) Translation: Boy (Masculine)

• ‏بنت‏ (Bent) Translation: Girl (Feminine)

• ‏ستيلو‏ (Stylo) Translation: Pen (Masculine)

• ‏طبلة‏ (Tabla) Translation: Table (Feminine)

• ‏معلم‏ (M'allem) Translation: Teacher (Male)

• ‏معلمة‏ (M'allma) Translation: Teacher (Female)

• ‏كتاب - كتوب‏ (Ktab - Ktub) Translation: Book - Books (Broken Plural)

• ‏بنت - بنات‏ (Bent - Bnat) Translation: Girl - Girls (Plural with -at)

• ‏مغربي - مغاربة‏ (Maghribi - Mgharba) Translation: Moroccan - Moroccans (Broken Plural)

• ‏فرحان - فرحانين‏ (Ferḥan - Ferḥanin) Translation: Happy (Singular) - Happy (Plural)

Articles and Determiners

Darija has a definite article ("The") which corresponds to l- (Alif-Lam in script).

It attaches to the beginning of the noun.

If the noun starts with a "Sun Letter" (letters pronounced with the tip of the tongue like t, d, r, s, z, n, sh, j, l, and emphatic letters ṭ, ḍ, ṣ, ẓ), the l- sound disappears and doubles the first letter of the noun.

For example, Dar (House) becomes D-dar (The house), not L-dar.

Darija often uses a bare noun where English uses "a" or "an" (e.g., Ktab can mean "a book").

It can also use wahed + the definite form to introduce a specific indefinite noun (e.g., Wahed l-weld, Wahed l-bent).

Examples:

• ‏الكتاب‏ (L-ktab) Translation: The book (Moon letter, 'L' is pronounced)

• ‏الورقة‏ (L-warqa) Translation: The paper (Moon letter)

• ‏الباب‏ (L-bab) Translation: The door (Moon letter)

• ‏الشمس‏ (Sh-shems) Translation: The sun (Sun letter, 'L' turns into 'Sh')

• ‏الرجل‏ (R-rajel) Translation: The man (Sun letter, 'L' turns into 'R')

• ‏الضو‏ (D-dow) Translation: The light (Sun letter)

• ‏واحد الولد‏ (Wahed l-weld) Translation: A boy

• ‏واحد البنت‏ (Wahed l-bent) Translation: A girl

• ‏كرسي‏ (Kursi) Translation: A chair

• ‏الكرسي‏ (L-kursi) Translation: The chair

Practice Section

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in each blank with the correct word, letter, or form based on what you learned.

1- To say "The house" in Darija, you add the article __________ to "‏دار‏", but because 'D' is a sun letter, it is pronounced __________.

2- The plural of "‏طوموبيل‏" (Car) is __________.

True/False

Read each statement carefully and decide if it is True or False.

1- In Darija, the adjective usually comes before the noun (e.g., "Big house").

2- Words ending in an -a sound written with ‏ة‏ (ta marbuta) are typically feminine.

Translation

Translate each English phrase or sentence into Darija.

1- The boy is happy.

2- I didn't eat.

3- Where is the book?