Tamazight to English Dictionary - 2007 - Live Lingua

153 Pages·2014·3.67 MB·English

by  Stacy Alboher

Acknowledgement

This monolingual Tamazight Dictionary is the product of several months of serious work,
dedication and determination of PCV/ Morocco Stacy Alboher (2005-2007).

Many thanks go to all those who have contributed to the collection of words contained in
this dictionary or helped verify the diverse meanings of these words.

While Stacy stated that this work is by no means exhaustive, I strongly believe that it
has great utility in helping PCVs / PCTs with their Tamazight language towards their
integration in their communities and being effective volunteers.

I would urge all users of this dictionary to make notes of any corrections, additions or
typing mistakes, while bearing in mind that there will be regional variations. I will be very
pleased to receive your notes and consider them for further elaborations on this
dictionary

Abderrahmane Boujenab
Training Manager
(June 2007)

Find More Free PC Tamazight Material on the LiveLingua Project Website
Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………....3
How to Use This Book…………………………….....4
English-Tamazight…………………………………....5
Tamazight-English…………………………………..50
Verbs………………………………………………...101
Countries……………………………………………149
God phrases………………………………………..152

Find More Free PC Tamazight Material on the LiveLingua Project Website
Introduction

This dictionary is the end product of many months of work, and expands upon an earlier
version that was compiled in 1997 by editors Laurel Groh and Eric Poolman. While I
initiated this project and took charge of its design and implementation, it would not have
been possible without the help of LCF Mohamed Arguine. He spent many long days
working with me to go through the dictionary word by word to make sure that all the
language contained within is correct, and though I am sure there were times when he would
have preferred to strangle me than work with me for even one more minute, we made it
through the whole thing to create this updated version, which I hope will be a valuable
resource for all the Tamazight speaking volunteers coming in. I am extremely grateful for all
his help, for without Mohamed this work would never have come into fruition.

I would also like to thank Lahcen Azaguagh, who worked with me to compile the list of God
phrases and put the finishing touches on the book, and Abderrahmane Boujenab, as
without his support this project never would have happened.

In this edition, I removed the Arabic letters and placed the whole thing in transcription, took
out Tashelheit vocabulary, corrected the mistakes contained within, and considerably
expanded the breadth from the previous version. I also removed the regional references,
instead listing words and all their possible translations in one line, and made it both English-
Tamazight and Tamazight-English so words can be looked up either way.

In addition, I added a verb section, where you will find not only the infinitives but also the
present continuous and first person past conjugation for each of the verbs. While some
verbs do not necessarily make sense when conjugated in the first person, most were still
conjugated that way simply to indicate which pattern they follow. The exception is those
verbs which are only used in one way (i.e. to bloom, which always refers to flowers) and
were therefore conjugated as such.

Finally, I also included a current list of all the countries in the world, and a section for God
phrases, including their literal translation and the contexts in which they are used.

While I hope this edition is an improvement over the previous version, I am well aware that
it is by no means exhaustive. I am sure there are still innumerable words that are not
included here, as well as much vocabulary that would be different in another region. While I
hope that the words listed here include those from all of Morocco’s Tamazight speaking
regions, both Mohamed and I live in the south, meaning that the vocabulary contained
within will likely be closest to the Tamazight spoken in the Kelaa Mgouna/Boumalen Dades
region.

I hope this document helps with your language learning, and wish you the best of luck with
your service.

Sincerely,

Stacy Alboher
Editor
Find More Free PC Tamazight Material on the LiveLingua Project Website
How to Use This Book

This dictionary was written in transcription, meaning that some of the sounds may not be
readily apparent. In addition, some of the Arabic letters do not exist in English, and as such
I have used other symbols to represent some of these sounds. Letters and symbols used in
this dictionary that do not necessarily follow the normal English sounds that we are used to
are as follows:

“x” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “خ” It makes a “kh” sound, pronounced like “ch”
in the German word “Nacht.”

“q” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “ق” It sounds like the “k” in “cork.”

“H” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “ح” It sounds like the “h” in “hat.”

“i” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “ي” It sounds like “ee,” as in “feet”

“u” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “ﻮ” It sounds like “oo,” as in “food”

“š” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “ﺸ” It sounds like “sh,” as in “shame”

“ş” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “ص” It is pronounced like the “s” in “saw.”

“ţ” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “ط” It sounds like the “t” in “torn.”

“ď ” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “ض” It sounds like the “da” in “dam.”

“ġ” is the equivalent of the Arabic letter “غ” It sounds like “gh,” or the rolling French “r.”

ع is the only Arabic letter that is used in this document. It sounds like “aa,” as in “baa.”

In addition to these letters, there are some symbols that have been included to indicate the
presence of pronouns. These are as follows:

^ indicates that a possessive pronoun (inu, u, nm, nk, ns, nġ, nun, nknt, nsn, nsnt)
should be added

* indicates that an indirect object pronoun (i, am, ak, as, aġ, awn, awnt, asn, asnt)
should be added

٭ indicates that a direct object pronoun (i, km, k, t, tt, tn, tnt) should be added

Words in italics indicate words that may be considered Hšuma, or inappropriate, and should
therefore be used with caution.

/ separates masculine and femine forms

Finally, all English words followed by an asterisk (*) or Tamazight words followed by two
asterisks (**) indicate Arabic words that are also used in Tamazight.
)ind 0ore )ree 3& 7amazight 0aterial on the /ive/ingua 3roject :ebsite
English-Tamazight

1 yan; yiwn/yat, yiwt a person or place Zars
2 sin/snat (indicates movement)
3 krad/kradt a while ago šHal aya
4 rbعa abnormal (person) nHya
5 xmsa abortion l-ijhaď
6 sţa about ġif; xf
7 sbع above afla; nig
8 tmniya abrasion (esp. on a anjj"im
9 tsعa mule)
9 tsعud abscess taHbubt
10 .عšra accent Ils
11 Hdaš accident Laksida
12 tnaš accounting lHisabat; lHsab
13 tltaš across from imqabal d; agumaţ n;
14 rbعtaš mlul n
Adams apple tablHuHt
15 xmstaš
Adams apple tatffaHat n Adam
16 staš
add Zaid
17 sbعtaš
address Ladrisa
18 tmntaš
adoption Lxiria
19 tsعtaš
advertisement Lišhar
20 .عšrin
Africa Afriqia
30 tlatin
after dart; ar asra; mnbعd
40 rbعin
afternoon Tadgwat
50 xmsin
afternoon snack allas; kaskrot
60 stin
again Diġ
70 sbعin
against ď'dd
80 tmanin
ago Aya
90 tsعin
agreement (n) Alitifaq
100 miya
agriculture tafllaHt; lfilaHa**
1,000 alf
air rriH; unfus; lhawa**
1,000,000 miliun
air conditioner Klimatizur
- less war-/tar-
airplane* Tiara
"I will never do that" Haša
alarm (clock) Rrafay
"take your time" s lqd
alcoholic (person) Askayri
10,000 Dhs milyun
alergy l-Hassassiya
10,000 Dhs minyul
alfalfa lfşşat; lfşşa**
a long time ago tizwiri; tizwuri; wahali
alfalfa, dried Lqorď
aya
all Kullu
a lot aHnuš; bahra; bzzaf;
all day as kullut; mayl was
šigan
all of them Kullutn
a lot (number) .عtan; gudin
all the time* dima
Allah rbbi
)ind 0ore )ree 3& 7amazight 0aterial on the /ive/ingua 3roject :ebsite
Allah (figurative bu itran artist Lfnnan
speech) ash iġd; iġid
alligator ttimsaH ashes Irġd
almond lluz ashtray Tffaya
almost .عlaHal; .عlaiyn; druġ Asia Asya
alone i iġf^; i ixf^ asleep, part of body tumzi tušnt g +body
alphabet lhja; lHuruf** part
alphabet, Tamazight tifinaġ association Ljamعiya
already yad at I
also awd at (location) G
although mkarr at the end g tiyira
always abda; dima** Atlantic Ocean l-muHit l-atlasi
ambassador* ssafir auction (n) Tadllalt
amulet lHarz August ġušt; šar tmniya
and d aunt (maternal) Xalti
and (time) u aunt (paternal) .عtti
angel hair pasta with ssfa author Lkatib
cinnamon authorities Lmxazn
angel(s) lmalayka autumn Lxrif
animal pen arHbi n lbhim available Mujud
animal skin ahidur; tahidurt average* Lmuعdal
animals (domestic) lbHim ax ašaqur; aklzim
animals (wild) luHš; luHuš baby lعil; tadrant; taslmia
ankle tawlzit baby (when talking to Mumu
anklet azvi; tazvit; dblij** another baby)
another wayd/tayd; wyat/tyat; bachelor Azufri
yadnin; yadnn back (animal/person) Tadawt
ant awtuf back (of location) ďart; tiġurdin n
ants iwtfan; tyudfin; yudfan back, lower tzlaft n tadawt
anus axna (animal/person)
appearance lmndr bag, canvas lxnşt; tعadilt
appendix* lmşrana zzayda bag, plastic Mika
apple, Adams tatffaHat n Adam baghette Kumir
apples talaHalut; tfaH** baking powder taxmirt n lgatu
appointment rendezvous bald Amjjuţ
appropriate ilaq ball Takurt
approximately ġor balloon Tibiwwlt
apricot lbarquq; mšmaš balloons Tibiwwal
April abril; šar rbعa ballot tawriqt n lintixab
arm afus; iġil bamboo Aġanim
armpit daw tayt bamboo on rooves Ašfaf
arms ifasn bandage Fasma
arrow Lafliš bandaid aHrruq; axrok
art Lfnn bangles dama
)ind 0ore )ree 3& 7amazight 0aterial on the /ive/ingua 3roject :ebsite
bangs (hair) tawnza beets Lbarba
bank lbanka before dat; qbl
banyo, metal ššfna before (time) Ql
barbary macaque zعtut beggar ddriwš; inmmtri;
barber ahjjam; ahssan lmskin; mskin
barbers ihadjmn begging Tutra
barefoot (adj.) s lHfa beginning tizwuri; tzwari
bark (tree) ifršin; lfrši; tifršt behind Dart
barley timzin bell nnaqus; srsar
barn aHanu n lbHim belly Axdil
bars, iron talHdidin belly button tabuţ; tiamعrt
basil lHbaq below daw
basin, for washing lmġssl belt lHazm; tassmrt;
hands ssmţa**
basket limšib; taqfift; taryut; benefit Nnfع
taslt; tazyawt berber man Amaziġ
basket (for bread) lmkbb; iswi; tiswit berber woman Tamazight
basket (for mule) ašuwari between Gr
basket, palm tazgawt between…and… gr…d…
basket, wicker axsis Bible l-injil
bat faHrtu; frţettu; frţiţu; bicycle bišklit; biškalt; bškirid;
farţu vititi
battery lHjrat bidon Tibrmit
battery, car lbatri bile iz'i
be careful Hďu iġf* bill lHsab
beach sand alus n lbHar binoculars lmri n lhint
beads aqayn; izllaiyn bird agdid; ajdid
beak aġnbu; aġnbub birds igdad; ijdad
beams, ceiling tigjda; tiyjda birth Tarwa
beans llubya birth certificates Lizikstri
bear (n)* ddub birth control pills lfanid; lfanid n tarwa
beard alHyan; amar; birthday .عid lmilad
talHyant; tamart black (adj) abašan; abxuš; ungal;
bearded man butamart uniyal
beater (laundry) taHadaft blackboard Ssbbura
beauty tiHli; zzin blacksmith Amzil
because ašku bladder nbula; tanbult
bed lbayas; lfraš blanket lkša; lkwaš; lmlaya
bedbugs igurdan; iwurdan blanket, bread zzif n uġrum; tamndilt
bee tizwit blanket, woven aHdum
beef aعjli bleach Javil
bees tizizwa; tizwa blender ţHHana
beet Lbarba blind (adj) adrġal
beetle Abxxuš blister (n) tilfxt
)ind 0ore )ree 3& 7amazight 0aterial on the /ive/ingua 3roject :ebsite
blond ašhabun; azrwal dblij**
blood idamn bracelets Izbyan
blood vessel azġur brag (n) sHam
blood vessels izġuran braid Aqaroi
blue (adj) ajnjari; azarqi brain allġf; dmaġ; lعql; anli
blue sky asmawi bran (for animals) Ilamn
board (wood) talblanšt branch, tree izli; tistuin
boat talflukt bravery Tiعzzit
body şşaHt brazier lkanun; lmjmr
boil (n) taHbubt; taqayt bread Aġrum
bolt (lock) şşaqta bread, piece avrruy n uġrum
bolt, metal, sliding zzkrum bread, plain Tifizwit
(for locking doors) bread, plate for Tišint
bomb lmint; lqanbula** making
bread, very fat, baked Abadir
bomb powder* lbarud
under ashes
bone akajmuj; akjij; akzui;
aqjbab; iġşş break (n) (fracture) Tirzi
breakfast lfdur; lftur
bones iġşan; iukzay; ixsan;
breast bbuš; if
boogieman xuš
breasts abbušn; ifan; lbzulat**
boogiewoman tarir
breath (n) Unfus
book lštab; lktab
breeze rrwaH
boots butyu
breeze in house Lhawa
borders imaran; lHudud
bribe (n) r-ršwa
both ssin/ssnat
brick, mud Uţţub
bottle taqrعiyt; lqra
bride Tislit
bottom abud
bridge azqur; lqndrt; tilguit
bottom (of) izdar (n); tabut (n);
abud (n) bridle (for mule) aljamu n usrdun;
aryamu n asrdun
boulder aġulid
brochette racks Ššwaya
boundary tigit
brochette sticks id sfud
bowl taHwart; tamtliyt; tazlft
brochettes tašwitin; tišbbiyin;
bowl (low, flat, for tazlaft
titliwin
couscous)
bronze nHas
bowls tiHwarin
broom Tašţţabt
box lbakit; lbakiya
broom, made from Ifsi
box, big lkarţtun
scrubbrush
box, small, metal (for tarrbiعt
sugar) brother igma; uima
brother-in-law argaz n utma
box, wooden şşnduq
brothers Aytma
boy arba; arva
brown Aqahwi
boys ifrgasn; lqum; iširan
brush lmšta; ššita
bra sutyanat
brushes (for wool) imšţn
brace (for mud form) lqilb n wuţţub
bubble (noun) tabuwlt; tibiwlt
bracelet azbi; azvi; tazvit;
)ind 0ore )ree 3& 7amazight 0aterial on the /ive/ingua 3roject :ebsite
bubbles tibiwlin calf (female) Tigizt
bucket ataš; aţaz; attas; lkob; call to prayer l'adan
sstl call to prayer, 1st l-fjr
bucket, measuring lعbrt (sunrise)
(metal) call to prayer, 2nd tizwarnin; dduhr**
bucket, well aga (noon)
buckets attasn call to prayer, 3rd Lعaşr
bugs ibxušn (afternoon)
building lbni call to prayer, 4th lmuġrb; tin wutši
(sunset)
bulb, meshy, for buta taftilt
lamp call to prayer, 5th lعša; tin yits
bull aعjliy; igiz; iyiz callous (n) Tilfxt
bullets rşaş callouses (n) Tilfax
bulls izyarn camel alġm; alġum
bundle (n) taymust camels Ilġuman
bureau lmktab camping (n) Lmoqhiam
burn (n) uġus can (metal) lHuk
burns, as a medical tiqad candle ššmع; tašmعt
cure (n) candles Šmع
burp (n) agorryH; agrriع candy lfanid; lHlwa
bus station lmaHţţa n lkiran cane, walking taġruyt
buses lkiran canon lmdfع
business card lakarţ vizit cape aznnar
but walayni; walini cape, black, taHruyt
butcher agzzar emrboidered (for
women)
butter zbda
butter, from the cow udi capers taylluş
capital (n) lعaşima
butterfly ibrbilu
cards, playing lkarta
buttermilk aġu
careful! rar lbal
buttocks aşud; axna
carpenter anjjar
button abra
carpet tazarbit; tikdift; tišdift
buttons ibratn
carpet, made from agrtil n tfruxt
by foot s udar
palm fronds
by means of s
carpet, woven plastic agrtil; ajrtil
by necessity s irġnan
carrot xizu
by themselves iġf nsn; iwadu nsn
carte de sejour lakart du sejour
by what mas
Casablanca darbida
by yourself xs km/ky
cat muš
cactus aqanaray; tazart n
irummin cataract itran n ţit
cauliflower šiflur; šifron
cakes lgatu
cave ifri
calandar Lyawmiya
caves ifran
calf (cow) Taعjliyt
cedar larz
)ind 0ore )ree 3& 7amazight 0aterial on the /ive/ingua 3roject :ebsite
ceiling* sqf churn, made from tijwit
cement sima animal skin(n)
cemetary lqbur; tamdint cigarettes lgarru
census liHşa cilantro lqzbur
centipede dad nuašal cinder block lbrik
ceremony, baby sibع cinnamon lqrfa
naming circle tabrrrayt
chaff nHala circumcision lislam; tzyyin; lxtana;
chain (n) snslt tHara
chair lkursi cirlce tamduart
chalk tabašir; ttabaşir cistern šarij; tafnna; tanutfi
chameleon mHbawš cities, the big ones in azaġar
north and west (i.e.
charcoal lfaxr; tirgin
Fez,
charcoal heater lmariu
Rabat,Marakesh,etc.)
(rectangular)
charcoal stove lcanun citizen lmuwaţin
(round) city lmdint; tamdint
charity şdaqa claws axbarn
chart ljdwal
cliff ajdir; akšmir
cheek anbuj; anjay; andur
climate* lmunax
cheeks injayn
close to tama n
cheetah aġilas
clothes iHruyn; lHwayj
cherry habmluk
clothespins lmqabţ; lqrrasat**
chest admr cloud asignu; isignu
chest (for people) idmarn clouds isignaw; tsigniu
chick ašišaw cloves lqrunfl
chick peas lHimz coals lfaxr; tirgin
chicken afulus; tafulust; yiazird coat lkabut; lkbbuţ
chickens ifulusn cobwebs asţa n tbaxa
chicks išišawn cocaine lkukayyin
chief amġar
cockroaches zqlil; srraq zzit**
child, illegitimate išnti
coelostrum, cow adġs
children ifrgasn; lqum;
coffee grounds aHbubn n lqhwa
luwašun; iširan;
coffee pot lbriq
taruwa; drari**
coins ş-şrf
childs penis tawjimt
cold (n) aqrf; asmid
chimney šumini
colic azbar
chin tamart; timġt
color (n) llun
chipped rim agrmaš
colors lluan
chocolate šklat
colors, mixture of zuaq
Christian l-masiHi many
Christianity l-masiHiya
comb (for loom) taska
Christians l-masiHyin
comb (n) amšat
church lkanisa
come here! addud
)ind 0ore )ree 3& 7amazight 0aterial on the /ive/ingua 3roject :ebsite