In this lesson, we will learn how to greet people and respond to greetings in Moroccan Arabic (with audio), and different ways of greetings throughout the day.
You probably know “assalam aleykum” and “kidayer?”, but Moroccan Arabic speakers don’t use only those, there are different greetings used in different situations throughout the day, learning them will expand your vocabulary and make you sound more natural while speaking Darija.
Note: you can practice what you’ve learned here, and learn how to pronounce each of the words in our Memrise course here, don’t know how to use the platform or sign up? we’ve got you covered in this easy-to-follow tutorial here.
| English | Transcribed Moroccan Arabic | Using Arabic Alphabet |
| Hi | Ahlan | أهلا |
| Welcome | Merhba | مرحبا |
| Peace be upon you | Assalam aleykum (can be shortened to salam) | السلام عليكم |
| Peace be upon you, too | Wa aleykum ssalam | وعليكم السلام |
| Good morning | Sbah lkhir / Sbah nur (nur=light) | صباح الخير / صباح النور |
| Good evening | Msa lkhir / Msa nur | مسا الخير/ مسا النور |
| Good night (before sleep) | Tesbah ala khir (addressing a male) / Tsebhi ala khir (addressing a female) | تصبح على خير / تصبحي على خير |
| How are you doing? | Kidayr? (Addressing a male) Kidayra? (Addressing a female) | كيداير؟ / كيدايرا؟ |
| Are you alright? | Labas? / Labas 3lik? | لباس؟ / لباس عليك؟ |
| Are you good? | Rak mzyan? (adressing a male) / Raki mzyana? (adressing a female) | راك مزيان؟ / راكي مزيانة؟ |
| Are you good? | Rak bikhir? (addresing a male) / Raki bikhir? (addressing a female) | راك بيخير؟ / راكي بيخير؟ |
| I am fine, thank God. | Labas hamdulillah | لاباس الحمد لله |
| And you? | W nta? (Addressing a male) W nti? (Addressing a female) | و نتا؟ / و نتي؟ |
| How is the family? | Kidayra l3a2ila? | كيدايرا العائلة؟ |
| The kids are good? | Lwlidat bikhir? | الوليدات بيخير؟ |
| Everything is fine. | Kolshi bikhir/ kolshi mzyan | كلشي بِخير / كلشي مزيان |
| Thank God | Hamdulillah | الحمد لله |
| Thank you | Shukran | شكرا |
| May God protect you. | Allah ihafdek / Rabbi ikhallik (the Moroccan way of saying “thank you”) | الله يحفظك / ربي يخليك |
| Have a blessed day. | Nharek mbruk | نهارك مبروك |
| God willing. | Inshallah | إن شاء الله |
| God bless you. | Baraka Allaho fik | بارك الله فيك |
| What’s up? | Ash kat3awd? (Addressing a male) Ash kat3awdi? (Addressing a female) | أش كتعاود؟ أش كتعاودي؟ |
| Long time no see/ it’s been a while | Mudda hadi | مدة هادي |
| How’s your day? | Kighadi nharek? | كيغادي نهارك؟ |
| Good to see you | 3ash men shafek (literally: alive the one who see you) | عاش من شافك |
| How are things going? | Kighadya l omor? | كيغاديا الأمور |
| Any news? | Shi jadid? | شي جديد؟ |
| We will meet tomorrow | Netlaqaw ghedda | نتلاقاو غدا |
| Bye. | Beslama | بسلامة |
| See you tomorrow. | Netshawfo ghedda | نتشاوفو غدا |
Note that in both cases, Moroccans will still say “hamdulillah” if asked
Happy learning!
Oualid Cheddadi is a language enthusiast who created Lingualid with the mission to inspire independent language learners worldwide, regardless of the language they are learning. The name “Lingualid” is derived from the Portuguese word for “language,” “língua,” and the last three letters of Oualid’s name, “Lid.”