In this lesson, we will talk about masculine and feminine in Moroccan Arabic, starting with the one and simple rule to form feminine for words and adjectives in Moroccan Arabic, then give a little explanation followed by examples.
Masculine And Feminine In Moroccan Arabic
The One And Simple Formula
Generally, to form a feminine, just add “a” to the end of the msculine noun or adjective: Feminine = Masculine + “a”
Example: For a Moroccan male: Mghribi , Moroccan Female would be Mghribia.
Examples Of Feminine Words In Darija
| English Word | Masculine In Moroccan Arabic | Feminine In Moroccan Arabic |
| Happy | Fer7an فرحان | Fer7ana فرحانة |
| Sad | M9all9 مقلق | M9all9a مقلقة |
| Tired | 3ayan عيان | 3ayana عيانة |
| Big | Kbir كبير | Kbira كبيرة |
| Small | Sghir صغير | Sghira صغيرة |
| Moroccan | Mghribi مغربي | Mghribia مغربية |
| Algerian | Jazayri جزايري | Jazayria جزايرية |
| Tunisian | Tunsi تونسي | Tunsia تونسية |
| Egyptian | Misri مصري | Misria مصرية |
| Swiss | Swisri سويسري | Swisria سويسرية |
| German | Almani ألماني | Almania ألمانية |
| Tall | Twil طويل | Twila طويلة |
| Short | 9sir قصير | 9sira قصيرة |
| Doctor | Tbib طبيب | Tbiba طبيبة |
| Teacher | Ostad أستاد | Ostada أستادة |
| Nurse | Fremli فرملي | Fremlia فرملية |
| Lawyer | Mo7ami محامي | Mo7amia محامية |
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.
If you could read Arabic, you may have noticed that the “a” is the same ta2 marbota التاء المربوطة ة that comes at the end of most feminine nouns and adjectives, but there are some exceptions for that rule, because not all feminine words ends with “a”, the following table lists some ways to know if the word is feminine:
| Way | Example |
| “a” ending | Kozina كوزينة kitchen Banana بنانة banana |
| Female names | Fatima فاطمة Maryam مريم Kenza كنزة |
| Some body parts | 3in عين eye Rjel رجل foot Yad يد hand |
Don’t worry about the exceptions as they are commonly used, so you will get familiarised with them from hearing them frequently in context, here are some:
- Dar دار house
- Shams شمس sun
Exercise
Turn the following words into a feminine form:
New: jdid جديد
Bad: khayb خايب
Afraid: khayf خايف
Journalist: sa7afi صحافي
French: fransawi فرنساوي
Sick: mrid مريض
Beautiful: zwin زوين
Once finished the exercise, scroll down for the solutions:
Exercise Solutions
New: jdida جديدة
Bad: khayba خايبة
Afraid: khayfa خايفة
Journalist: sa7afia صحافية
French: fransawia فرنساوية
Sick: mrida مريضة
Beautiful: zwina زوينة
That was all about masculine and feminine in Moroccan Arabic, take your time learning it before continuing to other topics.
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.”