Darija lesson 2: the article and sun letters

1

Two new sounds

One you already make without knowing it. The other you have to build.

ر

Hidden in your mouth

Not your r — but you own it

r · دْرُوجْ druj

ر is a single tap of the tongue tip behind the top teeth. Your English r never touches anything, so it will not do. But say “butter” or “water” the American way: that quick flap in the middle is ر. Put it where the r goes and druj is done.

ض

New

A d with a hollow mouth

d · الضَّوْ d-daw

ض is to d what ص was to s in lesson 1: tongue low, throat open, the vowel beside it darkened. d-daw, “the light”, should sound deeper than any d in English. Use a plain d and you will be understood, with an accent.

2

Nineteen words for the house

Listed without the article, the way a dictionary gives them. Put l- in front and you have “the”; the grammar section tells you when that l goes silent. With no article at all, the word means “a”: dar is “a house”.

The home

دَارْ dar house, home
Also “home” in general. d-dar is where you live, whatever its shape.
شَقَّة sheqqa flat, apartment
عِمَارَة 3imara block of flats
سْطَحْ sta7 roof terrace
Flat, walled, used every day: washing, sun, tea on summer nights. Not a sloping roof.
كْرَا kra rent
You will see it on doors as l-l-kra, “for rent”.

Rooms

بِيتْ bit room, bedroom
Any room, but first of all the one you sleep in.
صَالُونْ salun living room
From French salon. So is the next one, from cuisine.
كُوزِينَة kuzina kitchen
بِيتْ الْمَا bit l-ma toilet, bathroom
Literally “the room of the water”. Your first two-word noun: the second word carries the article, the first does not.

Getting in and up

بَابْ bab door
شَرْجَمْ sherjem window
دْرُوجْ druj stairs
مْفْتَاحْ mfta7 key
It opens with two bare consonants, mf-. Do not slip an e in.

Furniture

طَابْلَة tabla table
French table, Moroccanised.
كُرْسِي kursi chair
نَامُوسِيَّة namusiya bed
تْلَّاجَة tllaja fridge

What the rent includes

مَا ma water
Short word, easy to miss. Always with the article when it means the water supply: l-ma.
ضَوْ daw light; electricity
The same word covers the lamp and the bill.

3

The article that hides

All four sentences are written with the same two letters at the front, ال. Listen to the transcription.

الْبِيتْ هْنَاl-bit hna
الدَّارْ فْ فَاسْd-dar f Fas
الْكُوزِينَة هْنَاl-kuzina hna
الصَّالُونْ تْمَّاs-salun temma

In which two do you actually hear an l?

The rule

Darija has one article, l-. It never changes for masculine, feminine or plural, and it is always written ال.

What changes is the sound. Before fourteen letters the l melts into the next consonant, and that consonant doubles: d-dar, not l-dar. These are the sun letters, all made with the tip of the tongue: ت د ر ز س ش ص ض ط ن ل, plus ث ذ ظ from the older language, and in Darija also ج.

Before every other letter — the moon letters — you hear the l: l-bab, l-kuzina.

In writing, the sukūn on the ل tells you it is heard; the shadda on the next letter tells you it is not.

Moon, then sun

Written	Say	Means
الْبَابْ	l-bab	the door — l heard
الْبِيتْ	l-bit	the room — l heard
الْكُوزِينَة	l-kuzina	the kitchen — l heard
الْمَا	l-ma	the water — l heard
الدَّارْ	d-dar	the house — l gone, d doubled
الشَّقَّة	sh-sheqqa	the flat — l gone, sh doubled
الصَّالُونْ	s-salun	the living room — l gone, s doubled
النَّامُوسِيَّة	n-namusiya	the bed — l gone, n doubled

The test is quick: say the word and feel where your tongue tip is. If it touches the ridge behind your teeth, the l has nowhere to go and gets swallowed. Moon letters are made with the lips or further back, so the l stays.

What English hands you, and what it charges you

Free: one article for everything. English “the” never changes for gender or number, and neither does l-. French and Spanish speakers have to drop le/la/les and el/la/los/las. You have nothing to drop.

Free, but misleading: the al- words. Alcohol, alkali, alchemy, alcove — English kept a few, and every one is a moon-letter word. You have seen the article, but never the half of the rule where it disappears.

Charged: the double consonant. English never doubles inside a word: “dinner” has one n. You do double across words, though. Say “bad dog” slowly: the d is held. That is d-dar.

Your mistake, not someone else's

You learn the article as “l-” and then pronounce it everywhere, because the letter is there on the page. Before a sun letter that l is written and not said.

×الْدَارْ“l-dar”. Every Moroccan will understand it, and every one will hear a textbook.

✓الدَّارْ“d-dar”, the house. The l is gone and the d is held twice as long.

The opposite slip comes next: hearing d-dar, forgetting the doubling and saying dar. That is “a house”, not “the house”. In a sun-letter word, the long consonant is the only trace of the article.

4

A flat to let

A notice on a noticeboard and a sign on a door, of the kind you see in any Moroccan town. Nine of the words are from this lesson. Read the transcription aloud and count the l's you actually say.

شَقَّة لِلْكْرَا

بِيتْ · صَالُونْ · كُوزِينَة · بِيتْ الْمَا

فِيهَا الْمَا وْ الضَّوْ

حْدَا الطّْرَامْ

Notice for a flat

دَارْ لِلْكْرَا

Sign on a door

Did you follow it?

How many rooms does the flat have, besides the kitchen and toilet?
Show answers
Two: a bedroom, bit, and a living room, salun.
What is included in the rent?
Show answers
Water and electricity: l-ma w d-daw. fiha means “in it, it has”.
7da t-tram means “next to the tram”. Is t a sun letter?
Show answers
Yes. You hear t-tram, not l-tram.
Why does the door sign say dar and not d-dar?
Show answers
Because it is “a house for rent”. No article means “a”.

5

Check

Say each word aloud before you answer. This lesson is about your ear, not your eye.

Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the A1 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.

1Sun or moon

Put “the” in front of each word in your head. Does the l stay or go?

بَابْدَارْبِيتْشَقَّةكُوزِينَةصَالُونْمْفْتَاحْطَابْلَةكُرْسِينَامُوسِيَّة

The l stays (moon)

The l goes (sun)

2True or false

Read the word, then the statement about it.

الشَّقَّة You hear an l in this word.
الْمَا You hear an l in this word.
الْكُوزِينَة The article would change if the noun were masculine.
الدَّارْ It is said exactly like dar.
التّْلَّاجَة It starts with a doubled t.

3Put the marks back

The vowel marks are gone. Add them, and decide on each ال: sukūn on the ل, or shadda on the next letter.

الدار

The rest is in the A1 book

4 more items, with the answers.

The A1 book

4Add the article

Turn “a” into “the”. Write the marks that show whether the l is heard.

دَارْ

The rest is in the A1 book

4 more items, with the answers.

The A1 book

5Write

Describe where you live in three or four lines. Say where it is, then where the rooms are, with hna (here) and temma (there).

الشَّقَّةالصَّالُونْالْكُوزِينَةهْنَاتْمَّا

The rest is in the A1 book

The A1 book

Show answers

1. Sun or moon	The l stays (moon): بَابْ · بِيتْ · كُوزِينَة · مْفْتَاحْ · كُرْسِي / The l goes (sun): دَارْ · شَقَّة · صَالُونْ · طَابْلَة · نَامُوسِيَّة
2. True or false	1-False, 2-True, 3-False, 4-False, 5-True

The A1 book: In preparation

Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.

Tell me when it is out

I can now

Name the rooms of a house and what is in them.
Say “the” before any noun, and hear when the l goes.
Hold a doubled consonant instead of skipping it.
Read a to-let sign and say what is on offer.