Phrasebook · Morocco
Moroccan Arabic for your trip
36 words and phrases that get you through a day in Morocco.
French is widely understood in cities, hotels and offices; a few words of Darija get a warmer welcome everywhere.
Compare with other languages →How it sounds
The syllable in capitals is the one to stress.
- kh
- the ch in Scottish loch
- gh
- a gargled r, like the French r
- q
- a k made far back in the throat
- 3
- a tight a from the throat; Moroccans text it as the digit 3
- ḥ, texted as 7
- a breathy h, as if fogging a mirror
- r
- rolled, as in Spanish
Essentials
36 phrasesBasics
Food and drink
Getting around
Money
Help
Only in Morocco
Help
Emergency numbers
Eating out
20 phrasesWhat you'll hear back
Diet cards
Getting around
28 phrasesTaxis and tickets
Signs you'll see
- khoo-ROOJExit
- doo-KHOOLEntrance
- mahf-TOOHOpen
- MOOGH-lakClosed
- mah-rah-HEEDToilets
- ree-JAHLMen
- nee-SAHWomen
- EED-fahPush
- EES-habPull
- mahm-NOO ad-doo-KHOOLNo entry
Time and opening hours
Shopping
20 phrasesNumbers and prices
Prices are in dirhams (DH). Some sellers count in rials, an old unit worth a twentieth of a dirham: if a price sounds twenty times too high, ask "dirham?".
At the market
Outdoors
8 phrasesOn the trail
Culture
9 phrasesNo word for it in English
Festival words
Tashelhit (Amazigh) · the High Atlas, the Anti-Atlas and the Souss
Where other languages are spoken
- Tarifit
- Tamazight
- Tashelhit
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Eat, pass and take things with your right hand.
- Ask before photographing people; some will ask for a coin, some will say no.
- Cover shoulders and knees outside beach towns, especially in villages.
Don't
- Don't eat, drink or smoke in the street by day during Ramadan.
- Don't accept a "free" tour or gift from a stranger unless you expect to pay for it.
Gestures
- Hand on the heartThe right hand laid flat on the chest after a greeting or a no-thank-you. Sincerity; it softens a refusal.
- Fingers pinched togetherFingertips pressed together, pointing up, the hand held still. Shwiya, shwiya: wait a moment, slowly.
On the map
Heard at our spots
The words you'll use at the places we filmed. Pick a place to see it on the map.
MarrakeshSalām HelloShukrān Thank youKoutoubia MosqueSee it on the map
MarrakeshBislāma GoodbyeSalām HelloBahia PalaceSee it on the map
MarrakeshShukrān Thank youBislāma GoodbyeEl Badi PalaceSee it on the map
MarrakeshSalām HelloShukrān Thank youMellahSee it on the map
MarrakeshBislāma GoodbyeSalām HelloTinsmiths SquareSee it on the map
MarrakeshLā, shukrān No, thank youBalāk Excuse me, let me bySouk SemmarineSee it on the map
MarrakeshLā, shukrān No, thank youShukrān Thank youRiad Boutique MarketSee it on the map
MarrakeshKtāb BookLā, shukrān No, thank youFoire aux LivresSee it on the map
MarrakeshShukrān Thank youBislāma GoodbyeMarrakesh Train StationSee it on the map
High AtlasTanmmirt Thank you · Tashelhit (Amazigh)Azul Hello · Tashelhit (Amazigh)Tizi n'TichkaSee it on the map
RabatBnīn DeliciousMā WaterShukrān Thank youLatifa’s Harira SoupSee it on the map
RabatShukrān Thank youBislāma GoodbyeHassan TowerSee it on the map
RabatMā WaterSalām HelloNouzhat Hassan GardenSee it on the map
RabatBislāma GoodbyeSalām HelloViewpoint OudayasSee it on the map
RabatShukrān Thank youBislāma GoodbyeBab OudayasSee it on the map
RabatAtay messous Tea without sugarBnīn DeliciousShukrān Thank youCafé des OudayasSee it on the map
RabatMaqbara CemeteryShukrān Thank youCimetière des MartyrsSee it on the map
RabatBnīn DeliciousShukrān Thank you3andoo HabrichaSee it on the map
RabatBḥar SeaBislāma GoodbyeView on the Atlantic Ocean | RabatSee it on the map
RabatLā, shukrān No, thank youBalāk Excuse me, let me byOld Market - Souk TahtiSee it on the map
RabatBislāma GoodbyeSalām HelloSunset in RabatSee it on the map
RabatShukrān Thank youBislāma GoodbyeRabat - Sale AirportSee it on the map
RabatBḥar SeaMā WaterSalām HelloRabat BeachSee it on the map
RabatShukrān Thank youBislāma GoodbyeMausoleum of Mohammed VSee it on the map
RabatMā WaterSalām HelloAndalusian GardensSee it on the map
TinghirBislāma GoodbyeSalām HelloTinghirSee it on the map
TinghirLā, shukrān No, thank youShukrān Thank youMaison de Cadeaux BerbèresSee it on the map
Ait Sedrate Jbel El SouflaJbal MountainMā WaterSalām HelloMonkey fingers viewSee it on the map
MerzougaShukrān Thank youBislāma GoodbyeMerzouga DesertSee it on the map
Aït BenhaddouAzul Hello · Tashelhit (Amazigh)Tanmmirt Thank you · Tashelhit (Amazigh)Aït BenhaddouSee it on the map
Todgha GorgeWād RiverMā WaterBislāma GoodbyeTodgha GorgeSee it on the mapTake it with youJust the words, in two columns. Print it, or save it as a PDF for when there's no signal.
Where the words come fromPhrases and pronunciation adapted from Wikivoyage's Moroccan Arabic phrasebook, Tashelhit phrasebook and Wiktionary, under CC BY-SA 4.0.