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Darija for everyday situations

Everyday Darija with neighbours and friends: greetings and small talk

Everyday Darija conversation for social life: Moroccan Arabic greetings and small talk with neighbours, inviting a friend for coffee, making plans and keeping in touch, with natural register.

Short answer

Daily Moroccan small talk is built on greetings and check-ins: sba7 l-khir (good morning), kidayr / kidayra? (how are you?), ash khbarek? (what’s new?) and fin ghadi? (where are you off to?). With friends, plan with nshrbu wa7d l-qahwa? (shall we have a coffee?) and nshufek mn b3d (see you later). The tone is relaxed, but greeting before anything else is always expected.

Short dialogue: meeting a neighbour, then texting a friend

Forms marked m / f are for speaking to a man or a woman.

SpeakerDarijaEnglish
NeighbourSba7 l-khir! Kidayr / kidayra?صباح الخير! كيداير / كيدايرة؟Good morning! How are you (m / f)?
YouSba7 n-nur. Labas, l-7amdu lillah. W nta / nti?صباح النور. لاباس، الحمد لله. ونتا / ونتي؟Good morning. Fine, thank God. And you (m / f)?
NeighbourBikhir. Fin ghadi / ghadya?بخير. فين غادي / غادية؟Well. Where are you off to (m / f)?
YouGhadi l-l-7anut, nshri l-khobz.غادي للحانوت، نشري الخبز.To the corner shop, to buy bread.
NeighbourSir / siri b-slama. Ila 7tajiti shi 7aja, ana hna.سير / سيري بسلامة. إلا حتاجيتي شي حاجة، أنا هنا.Go safely (m / f). If you need anything, I’m here.
Friend (message)Nshrbu wa7d l-qahwa l-3shiya?نشربو واحد القهوة العشية؟Shall we have a coffee this afternoon?
YouWakha, ntlaqaw f s-setta.واخا، نتلاقاو فالستة.Okay, let’s meet at six.

Key small-talk vocabulary

Darija has no single official Latin spelling. Here, 3 stands for ع (a tight sound from the throat), 7 for ح (a breathy h), gh for غ (like a French r), kh for خ (like Scottish loch) and q for ق (a k pronounced further back). Pronunciation varies by city and speaker.

EnglishDarija
What’s new?ash khbarek? — أش خبارك؟
Long time no seehadi mudda ma shuftek — هادي مدة ما شفتك
See you laternshufek mn b3d — نشوفك من بعد
Neighbourl-jar / l-jara — الجار / الجارة
Corner shopl-7anut — الحانوت
Great / nicemzyan / zwin — مزيان / زوين
No problemmashi mushkil — ماشي مشكل
God willinginshallah — إن شاء الله

Pronunciation notes

  • Sba7 l-khir contrasts two sounds: the breathy 7 at the end of sba7 and the rough kh in khir. Practising them side by side helps.
  • Ash khbarek is said quickly: “ash-KHBA-rek”.
  • Nshrbu (let’s drink) starts with a cluster of consonants and no vowel: “n-SHER-bu”.

Register: relaxed but courteous

With friends and neighbours your own age, nta / nti (you) and short questions are normal. With older neighbours, add respect through titles — a sidi (sir), a lalla (madam), or a 7ajj / a 7ajja for an older person — and blessings such as l-lah y7fdek (God keep you).

Questions like fin ghadi? are friendly interest, not prying; a general answer is fine. Small favours between neighbours are common, and thanking with l-lah y3tik s-se77a or barak l-lah fik sounds natural.

Your next step

Conversation lessons build exactly this kind of everyday Darija. Lisanova Academy teaches Moroccan Darija online from Morocco, in private 60-minute video lessons with Moroccan teachers who can role-play this situation with you and correct your pronunciation live. The first trial lesson is free; one private hour is $20, and private packages are 8 hours $120, 12 hours $170 and 16 hours $200. Darija group classes are 2 one-hour classes per week, maximum 4 learners, $50 per month.

Lessons can be explained in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic, depending on the teacher; not every teacher speaks every one of these languages.

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Related guides

See also Modern Standard Arabic lessons, Moroccan Arabic lessons, group Darija classes and pricing.

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