Guides to read, write and conjugate darija

Short answers to the questions you ask in front of a message in darija: the digits 3, 7, 9, the spellings wach, wash, wesh, the present in ka-, the first phrases to say at the table. Every guide leans on what the app shows on screen.

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Reading arabizi: what 3, 7 and 9 mean in darija

The digits in darija texts are Arabic letters: 3 = ع, 7 = ح, 9 = ق. How to read them, with examples (3afak, 7lib, 9elb), and how to type them to find a word.

An open notebook with illegible pen strokes, a fountain pen and yellow sticky notes on a dark desk

How to write darija: wach, wash or wesh?

Darija has no official spelling. Wach, wash, wesh and واش are the same word. How to write it so people understand you, and how to find it in a dictionary.

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Darija conjugation: present (ka-), past, future (ghadi)

How to conjugate a verb in Moroccan darija: the present with ka-, the past, the future with ghadi, the imperative, the negation ma…ch and the feminine, on the example of bgha (to want).

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Understand a darija text from your family, and answer it

Your family texts you in darija and you get one word in two? How to read an arabizi message word by word, and how Translate decodes it then offers three replies with a voice.

A Moroccan silver teapot pours mint tea into a glass on a tray, yellow cushions in the background

Basic darija phrases to talk with the family

The first phrases to know in Moroccan darija: greetings, politeness, the table, questions. With the Arabic script and the voice (bghit kas d atay 3afak, wach nta labas).

A child's hands and an adult's hands line up wooden animals, a hen, a dog, a cat and a sheep, on a dark rug

Teaching darija to kids: animals and the little ones' words

How to teach your children darija at home: start with animals (djaj, kelb, mech, 7awli), food and the body, with the Arabic script and the voice. The app's Family mode.