Moroccan Arabic Phrasebook (with comprehensive dictionary)

175 Pages·1999·18.98 MB·English

by  Dan Bacon

lonely planet
MOROCCAN
ARABIC
PHRASEBOOK
ssalamulekum ؛s a greeting you'll hear from dawn
to dusk and on into the night. 'Peace be upon you'
- if only you could return the wish؛
And how about the farewell; lla yhennlk
'ly God give you tranquility'
Must be one of the best ways to bid goodbye to someone
about to travel further Into the magic lands of Morocco.
٠
script throughout
٠
language specific
to Morocco
٠
extensive vocabulary li
٠
full of useful cultural ti
٠
extensive food and
shopping sections
٠
includes chapters on
Berber and French
pronunciation guide
QUICK REFERENCE
٩ello. ssalamd (lekum ﻢ ﻜﻴﻠﻋ ملا ﻟا
Goodbye. m'a ssalama ﺔﻣلاﺴﻟا ع٠
؛lease, (afak ك١ة
rhank you. shukran ا ﺮﻜﺛ
؛xcuse me. smeh Ilya ل ﺢﻤﺳا
understand, fhemt ﺖ ﻤﻬﻟ
don't understand. mafremtsh ﺶﺘﻤﻬﻓ ﺎﻣ
)0 you speak English? wash kafref ؟ﺔﻳﺰﻴﻠﺠﻧ فﺮﻌﺘﻛ شاو
negliziya? .
How much is it? bshhal? ؟ لﺎﺤﺜﺑ
What time is it? shal Tessa؛a? ؟ﺔﻋﺎﺴﻟﺎﻓ لﺎﺤﺛ
I'd like a room please.
bghit uhzhez wafad lbit ﺖﻴﺒﻟا ﺪﺣاو ﺰﺠﺣا ﺖﻴﻐﺑ
I'd like the bill please.
wezhedlina lhsab afak كﺎﻔﻋ ب ﺎﺤﻟا ﺎﻔﻟ ﺪﺟو
Where's the toilet? fin kein lbit lma? ؟ﺀﺎﻤﻟا ﺖﺒﺒﻟا فﺎﻛ ﻦﻴﻧ
Go straight ahead. sir nishan فﺎﺜﻴﻧ ﺮﻴﻣ
Turn riglit. dOr'al limen ﻦ ﻤﻴﻟ ﻰﻠﻋ رﺮﺿ
Turn left. dbr (al liser ﺮﺴﻴﻟ ﻲﻠﻋ رﺮﺿ
ISBN 0-86442-586-4

Moroccan Arabic phrasebook
2nd edition - February 1999
Published by
Lonely Planet Publications Pty ltd ABN 36 005 607 983
90 Maribyrnong St, Footscray, Victoria 3011, Australia
Lonely Planet .ffices
Australia Locked Bag 1, Footscray, Victoria 3011
USA ٦ 50 Linden St, Oakland CA 94607
UK 72-82 Rosebery Ave, London, ECl R 4RW
France 1 rue du Dahomey, 75011 Paris
Cover illustration
Where'sAbdul?by Chelle Rudelson
ISBN 0 86442 586 4
text © lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 1999
cover illustration © Chelle Rudelson
10 9 8 7 5 4 3 2 1
Printed through Colorerait ltd, Hong Kong
Printed in China
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except
brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the written permission
of the publisher.
Lonely Planet does not allow its name or logo to be appropriated, by
commercial establishments, such as retailers, restaurants or hotels. Please
let us know of any misuses: www.lonelyplanet.com/ip
Lonely Planet and the Lonely Planet logo are trade marks of Lonely
Planet and are registered in the U.S. Patent and Traderhark Office and
in other countries.
Although the authors and Lonely Planet hav'e 'taken al'1 reason.able
care in preparing this book,: we mak'e 'no warranty about the
accuracy, or.completeness of its content and, to the maximum
extent permitted, disc.laim all liability arising from its use.
Ackn.wledgements
About the Authors
Dan Bacon is an American who lived for eight years in Morocco
where he started and managed Crown English Bookshop in the
town ofAgadir. Dan is currently employed as an engineer in the
United States.
Bichr Andjar is a Moroccan who grew up and currently lives at
Agadir, Morocco. He studied linguistics at the University of
Agadir and has taught Moroccan Arabic to American Peace Corps
Volunteers. Bichr is currently employed at the Airport in Agadir.
From theAuth.rs
The authors wish to thank all oftheir friends in Agadir for their
help in proofreading and making suggestions for the second edi-
tion ofthe phrasebook. Dan would like to thank his wife Kerry
and sons Nate and Zach for their patience and understanding
during the project.
From the Publisher
Vicki Webb co-edited the book, along with Justin Rudelson
who provided linguistic expertise between fending off Austral,
ian wildlife. Peter D’Onghia proofread and kept a sanguine eye
on production. Brendan Dempsey designed and laid out the
book with the aid ofPenelope Richardson, but didn’t make the
cast ofFalcon Crest, and Chelle Rudelson created the cover and
illustrations.
This second edition of the Lonely Planet MorocCa^ Arabic
phrasebook was written by Dan Bacon and Bichr Andjar. Thanks
toAbdennabi Benchehdawho with Dan Bacon and Bichr Andjar
wrote the first edition fiom which this book developed. The French
aird Berber chapters were compiled at Lonely Planet.
CONTENTS
INTGDUCTION 9
Abbre٧iations in this Book ........... 10
PRONUNCIATION .....
٧٠wels.......................................11 Consonants
GRAMMAR .............. .13
Articles.................................... To Ha٧e.....................................
Roots & Patterns..................... Modals.......................................23
Nouns..................................... Questions...................................24
Pronouns................................. Negati٧es..................................
Adjecti٧es................................... 17 cO^nCten .............................. 26
This & That................................
.... 20 Building Your Own Sentences...27
MEETING PEOPkE... .29
Greetings & Goodbyes .............29 Cultural Differences...................
Ci٧ilities.................................. Age............................................
Forms of Address....................
First Encounters...................... 33 I
Making con٧ersation ............. Feelings.....................................,.40
Nationalities.......................... Language Difficulties'.................
GETTING AROUND. ٠٠٠٠:٠٠٠٠٠٠ 43
Finding Your Way ...................... 43 Bus..............................................47
Directions...................................44 T٢ain............................................49
Addresses...................................45 Taxi.............................................49
Buying Tickets ...46 ........................ﺍ٠ Car..............................................50
Air...............................................46 Bicycle........................................52
ACCOMMODATION ...................................................... 53
Finding Accommodation............ 53 Complaints................................57
Cliecking In................................. 54 Checking Out............................58
Requests & Queries.................... 55
6 Contents
AR.UNDT.WN ..........
At the Bank............................. 62 Making a Call ..................... 66
At the Post Office ................ 63 Sightseeing ............................. 67
Telecommunications ............ 65
INTERESTS...................................................................................69
Common Interests ............... 69 Hobies..................................... 71
Sport ........................................ 69 Staying in Touch .................. 72
Family..................................... 70
Looking For'........................ 73 Toiletries ............................. 79
Making a Purchase ............. 74 For the Baby.......................... 80
Bargaining.............................. 75 Stationery & Publications ..... 80
Essential Groceries ............. 76 Music........................................ 81
Sou٧enirs & Handicrafts ...... 77 Photography .......................... 81
Clothing................................... 77 Weights & Measures............ 83
Colours.................................... 79 Sizes & Comparisons........... 83
F O D ...........................
Moroccan Hospitality ........... 85 Street Food............................ 88
Meals ....................................... 85 Typical Dishes......................... 90
٧egetarian & Special Meals... 85 Self-Catering ......................... 91
Eating Out.............................. 86 At the Market......................... 92
Utensils.................................... 87 Drinks...................................... 96
Ca mpi^ng .........................97 SeaSOns ............................ ٦ ؛ ؛
Hiking...................................... 98 Geographical Terms.......... 102
At the Beach ........................ ٦ 00 Animals & Insects .............. 103
Weather................................ 100 Flora & Agriculture ........... 104
WEALTH........................
Ailments................................ 106 Parts of the Body ............... Ill
Useful Words & Phrases .... 108 At the Chemist ................... ٦ 1 2
Women's Health ................ ٦ 1 0 At the Dentist........................ 113
Special Health Needs ........ 110 At the Optometrist ............. ٦ ٦ 3
Contents
SPECIFIC NEEDS '115
Disabled ٢٢٥٧ellers................... 115 T٢a٧e!!ing with a Family ........... 116
TIMES, DATES & FESTI٧ALS.........................................................119
Telling the Time ......................... 119 Present..................................... 123
Hours............................................ 119 Past..........................................123
Minutes......................................... 120 Future....................................... 123
Days............................................. 121 Festi٧als................................
Months ......................................122
NUMBERS & AMOUNTS............................................................. 127
Cardinal Numbers ................... 127 Ordinal Numbers ...................... 129
BERBER.............. ....... 131
Meeting People........................ 132 Numbers...................................... 133
Getting Around......................... 133
FRENCH.......... 135
Pronunciation............................135 lnte٢ests.....................................142
Meeting People........................ 137 Shopping...................................143
Getting Around......................... 138 Health........................................144
Accommodation.......................140 Time, Dates & Numbers........... 144
Around Town........................... 141 Emergencies...............................146
E M E R G E N C I E S 147
Dealing with the Police ............ 149
ENGLISH-MOROCCAN ARABIC DICTIONARY.......... 151
INDEX............................................................................ 173
INTRODUCTION
IN
T
R
One of the first things you’ll notice about Morocco is its linguistic O
D
diversity. French, Berber, Modern Standard Arabic, as well as U
Moroccan Arabic, can all be heard in the major cities, mainly CT
due to the rich historical past of the country. The Berbers, the IO
N
original inhabitants, make up roughly half of the population,
and the three major dialects of their language are widely spoken.
When the Arabs came to Morocco in the 8th century they
brought their language, which has evolved into the Moroccan
Arabic of today. France offici’ally entered the picture in 1912
when it began the Moroccan protectorate and French is still
widely used in commerce and the educational system.
When one speaks ofArabic in Morocco there are two languages
to be considered. On the one hand there is Modern Standard
Arabic. This is the direct descendant of the language of the Koran
and is understood throughout the contemporary Arab world. In
Morocco it’s used in newspapers, correspondence, news broad-
casts and speeches but rarely in conversation. Moroccan Arabic,
on the other hand, is the first language of the majority of
Moroccans and really the most useful language to know when
travelling in the country. It differs from Modern Standard
Arabic to the extent that non-Moroccan speakers ofArabic, with
the possible exception of Algerians and Tunisians, find it difficult
to understand.
Moroccan Arabic is strictly a spoken language and rarely
written down. When it is written, the Modern Standard Arabic
script is used and therefore has been adopted in this book.
However, the script does reflect Moroccan Arabic pronunciation.
It should prove useful to those who have had some previous
exposure to Arabic as well as those wishing to make an attempt
at learning the script. If you can’t make yourself understood
verbally, the script will be easily understood by Moroccans so
you can point out the phrase you wish to communicate. Remember
that Arabic script is read right to left starting ftom the top line.