Language

Some words and expressions in Darija that are particularly awesome, useful, or noteworthy.

Fayadan /fæ · yuh · dän/. This means “flood” in English, and is about the coolest sounding word I’ve ever heard. If I ever get into lucha libre (Mexican wrestling for any of you Philistines out there), that’s definitely going to be my name (with the requisite conditioners, of course). El Fayadan Loco.

Sfinj /sfinž/. This means “doughnut,” and is the funniest sounding word I’ve ever heard.

“Hit me with your telephone.” This is a literal translation of what you say when you mean “give me a call.”

Brodgan /brōd · gän/. These are boots – not your big galoshes types, more of the work/hiking disposition. Not very interesting in themselves, but the word makes them sound like something you’d find in a fantasy role-playing game. “Come hither, squire, and bring my brodgan. I must off to slay the terrible serpent.” Seriously badass.

The 4 Words (this is a tribute to another of my training comrades, Zacki, who discussed these in a speech at our swearing-in). These four words are pretty much all you really need to know to speak Darija. They are also very frequently used by volunteers speaking English (see Volunteer Darija, below).

1. /bε · zaf/. This means “a lot” or “much,” but is much more important than these two functions. “Bezzaf” is what you answer whenever anyone asks you if you like something, or if you’ve done things like eating already.

2. Shwiya /šwē · yuh/. This is pretty much the opposite of “bezzaf,” though it can also be used to imply incompleteness. For example, “I feel shwiya today,” or “I have a shwiya mudir (director) at my Dar Shebab.” It’s most used, however, when someone is about to give you more food or tea, though not very often listened to by said person.

3. Inshallah /in · šä · lä/ or /in · šä · uh · lä/. We’ve talked about this before, but for the beginner in Darija, “inshallah” is most useful as a way to end a line of questioning by an interlocutor, particularly when you don’t know what they’re talking about. Just say, “inshallah,” and you’ve got a 80% chance of having said the right thing. It’s also incredibly useful if someone asks you about doing something with you in the future, and you’re unsure about it or flat out don’t want to.

4. Yumkin /yehm · kin/. This means “maybe,” and should not be confused with mumkin (/muhm · kin/), which means “it is possible” (as I did for the first month or so). “Yumkin” is the perfect response to any question to which “inshallah” is not applicable, especially if you don’t know what they’re talking about.

“Fatal Tigers.” This is actually English and not Darija at all, but it’s been seen written as graffiti on a wall in Fes and here in Freedonia. I have no idea what it means, but whether it’s a street gang, a political movement, a rock band, or a team of synchronized swimmers, it’s got the coolest name of all time and I want to join. Also, I’ve yet to meet anyone who can explain anything about it.

Khowi /khä · wē/. This is a very dangerous word. The “kh” should be pronounced in a gargling fashion from the back of the throat, similar to an “r” in French. There is no phonetic letter for this sound that I know of, so it’s usually written as a “kh” in languages that use the Arabic alphabet, “ch” in Hebrew (think “Channukah”), or “x” in our Darija textbooks. In any event, if you have difficulty pronouncing it, talk to Michael McCowan; he’s really good at making this sound. Anyway, “khowi” means “pour,” as in “khowi attay” (“pour the tea”). The problem is that many people can’t make the proper gargle, and instead say “howi attay.” Normally it’s not such a problem if you make that mistake, but in this particular instance, you are giving the imperative command to do something quite improper (and seemingly impossible) to the tea.

Qub /qüb/. This is the verb that is the solution to your “khowi” problems. The “q” sound is also another difficult sound for non-Arabic speakers, being a sort of vocalized glottal stop rather than an English q. However, if you make a mistake when you say “qub attay” – which means the same thing as “khowi attay” – you just sound like a silly foreigner rather than a vulgar pervert.

Yek /yek/. This is what you say after making a statement you’re not sure about the veracity of. It basically means, “right?” For example, “We’re going to eat now, yek?” But it has a much better use, as well. After you make a statement that you really want the listener to understand, you say “yek.” Basically meaning, “you dig?” Excellent expression, yek?

“God help you.” This is the literal translation of what you say to people when you are leaving or going to sleep or someone else is leaving or going to sleep. It functions as something like “God be with you,” or “Godspeed,” or I really don’t know what it means, but it sounds funny every time I hear it. Especially since the reply is “Amin,” which is my name here in Morocco.

Volunteer Darija. We volunteers tend to speak another language of our own – two actually – volunteer Darija and volunteer Daringlish. Volunteer Daringlish is mostly English, with a handful of extra words from Darija thrown in. For example, The 4 Words, which are so important in our speaking of Darija that we can’t help but add them to our speaking of English. There are others, though. “Wallu” (/wa · lü/), meaning “nothing;” “belati” (/bi · lä · tē/), meaning “wait,” and “shnu” (/šnü/), meaning “what.” And this happens even we’re talking to people from back home who speak shwiya or wallu of Darija. We just can’t help it; so, if you’re thinking about talking to a PCV Morocco, you might want to learn those.

Volunteer Darija is the special language that we speak with actual Darija speakers, consisting of all the extra words and expressions that we’ve created. This isn’t a reference to our frequently unintelligible words we throw at unfortunate Moroccans. It’s more of a grassroots movement to build a new language, or at least redirect where this one is going a little bit. Here’s a sample.

- Mumtastic. This comes from the combination of mumtaz (/muhm · taz/), meaning great, and fantastic, meaning “fantastic.” People here tend to not really understand when you say this.

- Bezzaffer. This comes from the word bezzaf (see above) and is the noun form, as in, “That 5th policy session was a real bezzaffer.”

- Shukes /šüks/. A diminutive form of shukran (/šōk · rän/), which means “thank you.” “Shukes” is our creation of a “thanks,” and Moroccans tend to think it’s funny.

- Mashi Moosh /mä · šē müš/. Another diminutive, this time of the expression mashi mushkil (/mä · šē müš · kēl/), meaning, “not a problem.” “Mashi moosh” is easier and more fun to say, and, because it technically means “not a cat” in a combination of proper Darija and Berber, Moroccans tend to think it’s really funny.

Hopefully this guide is a useful way for you to better understand Darija and the life of your Moroccan Peace Corps volunteer.