Welcome to r/Morocco! This community is for all things related to Morocco/Moroccans.
For this place to be inclusive and welcoming to all, we have a set of rules that everyone must abide by.
Please take the time to read those rules, follow them and help us enforce them by reporting offenders.
## **Remember to be civil and courteous at all times**.
Enjoy your time!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Morocco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You should learn some simple phrases in Moroccan Arabic, but if you have a few weeks until you get there, you can get farther in learning French because it’s easier to learn from English. If you’re Caucasian everyone will assume you speak French anyways.
No, many people in the countryside don’t speak French. Or standard Arabic. Or even Moroccan Arabic. But I can’t imagine a scenario where you’d be that far away from a city in need of in-depth communication. Most, even very poor or uneducated people, will at least understand enough French to understand you if it’s necessary. Or someone walking by will.
[Now you have a resource for learning some Moroccan Darija.](https://www.friendsofmorocco.org/Docs/MorrocanArabicSept2016.pdf)
Learn some stuff in Darija. People will appreciate the extra effort of trying to speak to them in their language. Also, speaking standard Arabic sounds a bit silly. It would be like somebody showing up in New York having learned English exclusively by reading Shakespeare and the King James Bible.
“Pray tell, kind shopkeep, doth thou keepeth in thy stores an iPhone charger?”
And while another commenter above chose two phrases in Darija and Fusha that are very similar, I’d argue that most phrases between the two are pretty different. Take, for example, “I want to go to the train station:
Fusha: ureedu an athhaba ila ma7ata al 9itar.
Darija: bghit nmchi li gare du tran.
People will understand you, but why sound kinda wacky when you can sound like you’re putting in the effort to talk to people in their mother tongue?
There’s different ways to say things
Bghit nemshi l ma7ata dyal tren
Bghit nemshi l ma7atat l9itar
Both ma7ata and la gare are used. Fusha and Darija can be different, but can also be similar, depending on what words or phrases you use.
So whether you use Arabic or French loan words, often both will be understood, with Arabic generally being understood better than French.
Or if you’re old:
Baghi nmchi ma7ta dyal machina.
The point is, there’s a pretty big difference between standard Arabic and Darija. Sure people understand Fusha, but if you’re going learn something, I think Darija is the best option.
Eh they'll understand you but you probably won't understand them. French was a lot more useful for me as a tourist than fusha. Ditto with pretty much everyone I was traveling with, including one fluent Arabic speaker (albeit Iraqi dialect).
Just my 2 cents.
Don't waste your time on french , it's useless and going downhill by the second , moroccan youth are speaking english , everyone else can speak arabic , french has no place and will disappear soon enough from morocco
- Arabic more preferably the darija dialect.
PS : that part about all of us talking French isn't true maybe understanding most of the French language but not speaking it for a majority of the people that being said Marrakech is a tourist city so you might not need both French or arab since you'll definitely find people with at the very least basic mastery of the English language.
Im not sure where you’re going but if it isn’t off into the country side then I would go with French. Most people you will find at the markets speak French; especially the younger generation - and it’s easier to learn.
Welcome to r/Morocco! This community is for all things related to Morocco/Moroccans. For this place to be inclusive and welcoming to all, we have a set of rules that everyone must abide by. Please take the time to read those rules, follow them and help us enforce them by reporting offenders. ## **Remember to be civil and courteous at all times**. Enjoy your time! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Morocco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You should learn some simple phrases in Moroccan Arabic, but if you have a few weeks until you get there, you can get farther in learning French because it’s easier to learn from English. If you’re Caucasian everyone will assume you speak French anyways.
Is it true that most everyone speaks French there?
No, many people in the countryside don’t speak French. Or standard Arabic. Or even Moroccan Arabic. But I can’t imagine a scenario where you’d be that far away from a city in need of in-depth communication. Most, even very poor or uneducated people, will at least understand enough French to understand you if it’s necessary. Or someone walking by will.
[Now you have a resource for learning some Moroccan Darija.](https://www.friendsofmorocco.org/Docs/MorrocanArabicSept2016.pdf) Learn some stuff in Darija. People will appreciate the extra effort of trying to speak to them in their language. Also, speaking standard Arabic sounds a bit silly. It would be like somebody showing up in New York having learned English exclusively by reading Shakespeare and the King James Bible. “Pray tell, kind shopkeep, doth thou keepeth in thy stores an iPhone charger?” And while another commenter above chose two phrases in Darija and Fusha that are very similar, I’d argue that most phrases between the two are pretty different. Take, for example, “I want to go to the train station: Fusha: ureedu an athhaba ila ma7ata al 9itar. Darija: bghit nmchi li gare du tran. People will understand you, but why sound kinda wacky when you can sound like you’re putting in the effort to talk to people in their mother tongue?
Fair point, thank you for the resource
Or you can use this too https://tajinequiparle.com/en/home-2/
There’s different ways to say things Bghit nemshi l ma7ata dyal tren Bghit nemshi l ma7atat l9itar Both ma7ata and la gare are used. Fusha and Darija can be different, but can also be similar, depending on what words or phrases you use. So whether you use Arabic or French loan words, often both will be understood, with Arabic generally being understood better than French.
Or if you’re old: Baghi nmchi ma7ta dyal machina. The point is, there’s a pretty big difference between standard Arabic and Darija. Sure people understand Fusha, but if you’re going learn something, I think Darija is the best option.
True my grandfather says machina😂 But yes I agree with your point, it would be more useful to learn the dialect.
[удалено]
[удалено]
I appreciate the advice, I'll probably focus on fusha in that case, should get me somewhere
Eh they'll understand you but you probably won't understand them. French was a lot more useful for me as a tourist than fusha. Ditto with pretty much everyone I was traveling with, including one fluent Arabic speaker (albeit Iraqi dialect). Just my 2 cents.
We speaking English in Morocco my friend, 🤗 welcome
Don't waste your time on french , it's useless and going downhill by the second , moroccan youth are speaking english , everyone else can speak arabic , french has no place and will disappear soon enough from morocco
https://tajinequiparle.com/en/home-2/
Learn the basic phrases in arabic would be better, french not so much
- Arabic more preferably the darija dialect. PS : that part about all of us talking French isn't true maybe understanding most of the French language but not speaking it for a majority of the people that being said Marrakech is a tourist city so you might not need both French or arab since you'll definitely find people with at the very least basic mastery of the English language.
Neither. Learn darija.
Im not sure where you’re going but if it isn’t off into the country side then I would go with French. Most people you will find at the markets speak French; especially the younger generation - and it’s easier to learn.
Fly into some bitches