Why Moroccan Arabic Sounds So Different from Modern Standard Arabic

The Arabic dialect in Morocco is called Moroccan Arabic or Moroccan Darija. It has been heavily influenced by the Berber languages (Amazigh) and to a lesser extent by French and Spanish.

Morocco was a French colony before, and because of it, most of the Moroccan people are fluent in French. French retains a major place in Morocco, as it is taught universally and serves as Morocco's primary language of commerce and economics, culture, sciences and medicine; it is also widely used in education and government. Morocco is also a member of the Francophonie.

First Time I Listened to Moroccan Arabic and I Felt Like... 🤨

A few weeks ago I heard Moroccan Arabic for the first time, I felt like I was hearing a completely different language... I've been using and studying Standard Arabic since I was a little child, I'm very familiar with it and plus, I speak 7 Middle Eastern languages including Egyptian Arabic and Syrian Arabic, so why could I not understand a single word of Moroccan Arabic?

I kept thinking "is Moroccan Arabic really a dialect of Arabic?"

Moroccan Arabic doesn't sound like Arabic at all! All the other Arabic dialects that I heard before sounded a lot of more similar to Standard Arabic than this one.

But the more I listen to Moroccan Arabic, the more familiar it became, especially after learning the basic differences with Standard Arabic.

As with most of the Arabic dialects, the biggest differences are in the most commonly used words, and the more difficult and complicated words tend to be the same with Standard Arabic.

3 Types of Words of Moroccan Arabic

After listening to Moroccan Arabic and comparing it to Standard Arabic, I categorize three different types of words of Moroccan Arabic.

Type 1: Same Words as Standard Arabic

Words that are almost exactly the same as Standard Arabic, such as:

English	Standard Arabic	Moroccan Arabic
near	قَريب Qarib	قْرِيبْ Qrib
book	كِتاب Kitaab	كْتَابْ Ktaab
office	مَكْتَب Maktab	مكتب Mktab
friends	أَصْدِقَاءْ Asdiqa	أَصْدِقَاء Asdiqa
here	هُنا Hona	هْنَا Hna
airport	مَطَار Matar	مَطَار Matar
the world	العَالَم Al 'alam	العَالَم Al 'alam
the news	أَخْبار Axbar	أَخْبار Axbar
vacation	عُطلَة Otla	عُطلَة Otla
school	مَدْرَسَة Madrasa	مَدْرَسَة Madrasa
coffee	قَهْوَة Qahwa	قَهْوَة Qahwa

Type 2: Similar Words to Standard Arabic or Recognizable

The second type of words are those that were similar to Standard Arabic or still recognizable:

English	Standard Arabic	Moroccan Arabic
cost, price	الثَمَن	التَّمَنْ
always	دَائِمًا	دِيمَا
fish	السَمَكْ	الْحُوتْ It means "whale" in Standard Arabic.
light	ضَوْء	ضُو
sky	سَماء	سما
sun	شَمْس	شَمْش
head	رَأس	راس
a woman	امرأة	مرا

Type 3: Completely Different Words Compared to Standard Arabic

The type 3 are the words that were very different, later I learned that these words were from Spanish, French and Amazigh language.

English	Standard Arabic	Moroccan Arabic
pen	سْتِيلُو	قَلَمْ
bus	الْحَافِلَة	طُوبِيسْ
kitchen	مَطْبَخ	الكُوزِينَة
good	جَيِّد	زْوين
accident	الْحَادِث	الكْسِيدَة
week	أُسْبُوع	سِيمَانا
last week	الْأُسْبُوعَ الْمَاضِي	السِيمَانا اللِي دَازْت
car	سَّيَّارَة	طُموبِيلَة
this	هذا	هَاد
window	نافِذَة	شَرْجْم
bed	سرِير	نامُوسِيَّة
late	مُتَأَخِّر	مْعَطَّل It means broken, out of order or idle in Standard Arabic.
bicycle	الدَّرَّاجَة	الْبَشكلِيط Spanish: bicicleta
very	جِدًّا	بِزَّاف
hospital	مُستَشفى	سَبِيطَار
I don't want	لا أُريدُ	مَا بْغِيتِشْ
coat	مِعْطَف	كَبُّوطْ
bag	الحَقِيبَة	الصَّاكْ
now	الآن	دَابَا
hat	قُبَّعَة	كَاسْكِيطَة
rain	مَطَر	الشْتَا It means "winter" in Standard Arabic.
pc, computer	حاسوب	بِيسِّي
how much	كَم	شحال

Conclusion

I always say that a good knowledge of the Standard Arabic is crucial to learn the dialects a lot easier and a lot quicker. It’s the same for Moroccan Arabic, the majority of the words are similar to Standard Arabic with some variation in pronunciation and the loanwords from other languages like French, Spanish and
Amazigh.

I hope some of these tips guide you and help you learn this dialect a lot faster. And if you have any questions, let us know below in the comment section below.

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