Come in and speak like a Moroccan :D

[Charly]

Welcome, Bienvenue, Wilkommen, Welkom, ברוך הבא, Bienvenido and Quack Quack!

Come in and speak like an Moroccan and try out our Moroccan Words & Tea

Some words borrowed from Berber:
Mouch or Mech : cat (orig. Amouch)
Khizzou : carrots
Yekh : onomatopoeia expressing disgust (orig. Ikhan)
Dchar or Tchar : zone
Neggafa : wedding facilitator (orig. taneggaft)
sifet or sayfet : send
Sebniya: veil in north only
jaada : carrots in north only
sarred : synonyme of send in the north only

Some words borrowed from French
forchita : fourchette (fork) (pronounced [forʃitˤɑ])
tomobile or tonobile : automobile (car) ([tˤomobil])
telfaza : télévision (television) ([tɪlfɑzɑ])
radio : radio ([rɑdˤjo])—NB: rādio is common across most varieties of Arabic.
bartma : appartement (apartment) ([bɑrtˤmɑ])
rambwa : rondpoint (traffic circle) ([rambwa])
tobis : autobus (bus) ([tˤobis])
camera: caméra (camera) ([kɑmerɑ])
portable: portable (cell phone) ([portˤɑbl])
tiliphune: téléphone (telephone) ([tilifuːn])
brika: briquet (lighter) ([bri-key])
Parisien: French bread
Disque : song
Danon: Yogurt, genericized from Danone, a brand of yogurt (in some regions)

Some words borrowed from Spanish
roueda : rueda (wheel) (pronounced [rwedˤɑ])
cuzina : cocina (kitchen) ([kuzinɑ])
simana : semana (week) ([simɑnɑ])
manta : manta (blanket) ([mɑltˤɑ])
rial : real (five centimes; this term has also been borrowed into many other Arabic dialects) ([rjɑl])
fundo : fondo (bottom of the sea or the swimming pool) ([fundˤo])
carrossa : carrosa (carrosse) ([kɑrrosɑ])
courda : cuerda (rope) ([kordˤɑ])
cama (in the north only) : cama (bed) ([kamˤɑ])
blassa : plaza (place) ([blasɑ])
l banio: el baño (toilet)
comer : eat (but Moroccans use this expression to name the parisian bread)
Disco : song (in north only)

Some words borrowed from Portuguese and German
Blaya : beach
mariya: water flow
Kekse : cookies

 

[goktengri]

as if we know Arabic very well, we'll speak its vernaculars

 

[Charly]

Some useful sentences:
English - Western - Northern - Eastern
How Are You? - La bas / Ça va? - La bas? / Bikhayr? - La bas? / Rak ġaya / Rak Shbab?
Can You help me? - Yemken lek tʿaweni? - Tekdar dʿaweni? - Yemken lek tʿaweni?
Excuse me - Smaḥ liya - Smah Li - Smaḥ liya
Good luck - ḥaḍ saʿid - ḥaḍ saʿid - ḥaḍ saʿid
Good Morning - ṣbaḥ el-khir - ṣbaḥ el-khir - ṣbaḥ el-khir
Good night - Teṣbaḥ ʿla khir - ṣbaḥ ʿla khir - Teṣbaḥ ʿla khir
Goodbye - Beslama - Beslama / howa hadak - Beslama
Happy new year - Sana saʿida - Sana saʿida - Sana saʿida
Hello - As-salam ʿleykum / Ahlan - As-salam ʿleykum / Ahlan - As-salam ʿlikum
How are you doing? - La bas ʿlik? - La bas - La bas ʿlik?
How are you? - Ki dayer ? (masculine) / Ki dayra ? (feminine) - Kif ntin? - Kif rak
Is everything okay? - Kulši mezyan ? - Kulši mezyan ? / Kulšî huwa hadak ? - Kulši mliḥ? / Kulšî zin?
Nice to meet you - Metšarfin - Metšarfin - Metšarfin
No thanks - La šukran - La šukran - La šukran
Please - Allāh ikhallik / ʿafak - Laykhallik / Layʿizek / Khaylah - Allāh ikhallik / yʿizek
Take care - Thalla f raṣek - Thallah / Thalla - Thalla f raṣek
Thank you very much - Šukran bezaf - Šukran bezaf - Šukran bezaf
What do you do? - Faš khaddam? - Škad ʿaddel? / šenni khaddam? (masculine) / šenni khaddama? (feminine) / škadekhdem? - Faš tekhdem? (masculine) / Faš tkhedmi ? (feminine)
What's your name? - Ašnu smiytek? / šu smiytek - Šenni ismek? - Wašta smiytek?
Where are you from? - Mnin nta? (masculine) / Mnin nti? (feminine) - Mnayen ntina? / Mayen ntina? - Min ntaya? / Min ntiya?
Where are you going? - Fin ġadi temši? - Nayemmaši? (masculine) / Nayemmaša? (feminine) - Ferak temši? / Ferak rayaḥ
You are welcome - La šukr ʿlâ wajib / Bla jmil - La šukr ʿlâ wajib/mashi mushkil - La šukr ʿlâ wajib

 

[Charly]

tbh I prefer it to be Moroccan then Arabic and I prefer Morocco not to called an Arab Country and I classify Moroccans Moroccans not Arabs.

 

[goktengri]

why ? Aren't Moroccans arab ? don't deny your family...

 

[Charly]

Letters:
Letter - Moroccan - Description
a - أ - Sharp (A), like the French (A).
b - ب - B like in (battery)
t - ت - T like in (steady)
j - ج - J like the sound of (S) in (pleasure).
7 - ح - It’s the aspired sound of (H); a voiceless fricative sound made deep in the throat.
kh - خ - Like Spanish (J). This letter is often transliterated in chats and messages as (7’)
d - د - D like in (doll)
r - ر - Different from the English (R). A little bit trilled.
z - ز - Z like in (zebra).
s - س - S like in (secret)
sh - ش - SH like in (she)
S - ص - Emphatic sound of (S), like in (sour).
D - ض - Emphatic sound of (D), like in (door).
T - ط - Emphatic sound of (T), like in (Tall).
3 - ع - It’s the sound produced when you pull the back of your tongue back into your throat a bit.
gh - غ - Hard version of (KH) being voiced, like the French (R) in (Maroc).
f - ف - F like in (far)
q - ق - It’s the hard throatish equivalent of (K).
k - ك - K like in (kidnap), (cat).
l - ل - L like in (light).
m - م - M like in (man).
n - ن - N like in (not).
h - ه - H like in (home).
w - و - W like in (what).
y - ي - Y like in (you).
2 - ؤ ئ ء - It refers to a glottal stop.
v - ڤ - English V.
g - ڭ/گ - English G.
p - پ - English P.

 

[Charly]

why ? Aren't Moroccans arab ? don't deny your family...

I prefer Moroccan then Arab :l

 

[goktengri]

ok

 

[Charly]

Besides we are comming a bit European with the clothes we wear, buildings and landscapes.

 

[Grinch]

Moroccon culture is the mix of Arabian, African and Mediterranean cultures, right? How cool is that!

 

[Charly]

Correct

 

[Charly]

English has the definite article (the); in standard Arabic we use (al).
Now, in Moroccan Darija -as we drop vowels most of the time- we simply say (L) when the word starts with a (moon letter); and when it starts with a (sun letter), this letter is doubled.
These names of the letters refer to the words sun and moon in Arabic. Moon is (qamar قمر), the moon is (lqamar لقمر). Sun, it’s (shms شمس), and the sun is (sh-shms الشمس).
This rule comes from classical Arabic, to distinguish the pronunciation of (L) from doubled letters while defining a word, according to the following classification of letters:
Sun letters are: t, T, d, D, r, z, s, S, sh, l, n.
Moon letters are the rest of the alphabet.

Words wih Moon Letters:
School = Mdrasa مدرسة à The school = lmdrasa لمدرسة.
Door = bâb باب à The door = lbâb لباب.
Building = 3imâra عمارة à The building = l3imâra لعمارة.

Words with Sun Letters:
Trousers = srwâl سروال à The trousers = ssrwâl السّروال.
House = dâr دار à The house = ddâr الدّار.

Words:
Shrjm شْرجم (window)
Ktâb كتاب (book)
Wrqa ورقة (paper)
Râjl راجل (man)
Qr3a قْرعة (bottle)
NDâDr نْضاضر (glasses)
Brâ برا (letter)
Drhm درهم (Dirham)
Balîza بَليزَة (suitcase)
Tbsîl طبسيل (dish)

 

[94ayd]

Noticed a lot of words that start with "au" in the European language they were taken from have been dropped. Really interesting language. I know how to make the 3 different "H" sounds, I think.