Lesson 57 · B1
Certificate of residence
On the street: l-wraqa dyal s-sukna, “the paper of the residence”. At the counter: shahadat s-sukna, two nouns stuck together, no dyal. English says “residence certificate”, modifier first; Darija puts it second, and gives it the article.
- Form and recognise compound nouns without dyal.
- Name the papers of administrative life.
- Know which office to go to and what to bring.
- Fill in an application form.
Twenty-four words
The first family is documents, all built the lesson's way. The second is Moroccan local administration, which has no exact English equivalent.
The papers
-
شَهَادَة السُّكْنَى
shahadat s-sukna
residence certificate
Needed for almost everything.
- عَقْدْ الْكْرَا 3aqd l-kra rental contract; lease
- عَقْدْ الِازْدِيَادْ 3aqd l-izdiyad birth certificate
-
بِطَاقَة التَّعْرِيفْ
bitaqat t-ta3rif
identity card
Formal; on the street, l-bitaqa, lesson 48.
-
رُخْصَة السِّيَاقَة
rukhsat s-siyaqa
driving licence
Formal; on the street, l-birmi, lesson 31.
-
فَاتُورَة الضَّوْ
fatura d-daw
electricity bill
Proof of address.
Where
-
الْمُقَاطَعَة
l-muqata3a
district office
The nearest administration, the qayd's.
- الْجَّمَاعَة j-jama3a town council; commune
-
الْقَايْدْ
l-qayd
caid
District authority.
-
الْمُقَدّْمْ
l-muqeddem
mokadem
The neighbourhood official who knows every resident. No English equivalent.
- الطَّابْعْ t-tabe3 stamp; revenue stamp
What's done
-
صَادَقْ عْلَى
sadeq 3la
to certify; authenticate
sadeq 3la n-nuskha, certify the copy.
-
خَرّْجْ
kherrej
to issue (a document)
Form II of “go out”: “make come out”.
- صَوّْرْ sewwer to photocopy
- خَلّْصْ الرّْسُومْ khelles r-rsum to pay the fees
- سْلّْمْ sellem to hand in
Housing
-
الْمُلْكْ
l-mulk
ownership; property
3aqd l-mulk, title deed.
-
مُولْ الدَّارْ
mul d-dar
landlord
“Owner of the house”: the same construction.
- الْكَارِي l-kari tenant
- الضَّمَانَة d-damana deposit
- الْعُنْوَانْ l-3unwan address
The form
-
الِاسْمْ الْعَايْلِي
l-ism l-3a'ili
surname
“Family name”.
-
الِاسْمْ الشَّخْصِي
l-ism sh-shakhsi
first name
“Personal name”.
- التَّوْقِيعْ t-tawqi3 signature
Two nouns, no dyal
Four office sentences. Look at the document names: where's the article?
- خَصّْنِي شَهَادَة السُّكْنَى بَاشْ نْجَدّْدْ الْبِطَاقَةkhassni shahadat s-sukna bash njedded l-bitaqa
- عَقْدْ الْكْرَا خَصُّو يْتّْصَادَقْ عْلِيهْ3aqd l-kra khassu yttsadeq 3lih
- مُولْ الدَّارْ طْلَبْ شْهْرَيْنْ دْ الضَّمَانَةmul d-dar tleb shehrayn d d-damana
- بِطَاقَة التَّعْرِيفْ دْيَالِي تْسَالَاتْbitaqat t-ta3rif dyali tsalat
Does shahadat have the article? Does s-sukna? Why -at and not -a?
The rule
Two nouns can join without dyal: the first is the thing, the second says what kind. This is the iḍāfa, the Classical Arabic construction.
The order is the reverse of English: “residence certificate” is shahadat s-sukna, “certificate (of) the residence”.
Only the second noun takes the article: 3aqd l-kra, never l-3aqd l-kra.
If the first ends in -a, it sounds -at: shahada → shahadat.
For “my”, the possessive goes at the end with dyal: shahadat s-sukna dyali.
With and without dyal
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| شَهَادَة ← شَهَادَة السُّكْنَى | shahada → shahadat s-sukna | certificate → residence certificate |
| عَقْدْ ← عَقْدْ الْكْرَا | 3aqd → 3aqd l-kra | contract → rental contract |
| بِطَاقَة ← بِطَاقَة التَّعْرِيفْ | bitaqa → bitaqat t-ta3rif | card → identity card |
| مُولْ ← مُولْ الدَّارْ | mul → mul d-dar | owner → landlord |
| الْوْرَقَة دْيَالْ السُّكْنَى | l-wraqa dyal s-sukna | the residence paper (street) |
| شَهَادَة السُّكْنَى دْيَالِي | shahadat s-sukna dyali | my residence certificate |
| بَابْ الدَّارْ | bab d-dar | the front door |
| وْلَادْ الْحُومَة | wlad l-7uma | the neighbourhood kids |
English puts the kind first (“residence”); Darija puts it second.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: compounding itself. English sticks nouns together without a preposition too: “birth certificate”, “house owner”.
Costly: the order. English modifier first; Darija modifier second.
Costly: the article on the modifier. “Rental contract” has no “the”; 3aqd l-kra does, on the second word.
Your mistake, not someone else's
Two slips: English order (“residence certificate” → s-sukna shahada) and “the” on the first word (sh-shahada).
×الشَّهَادَة السُّكْنَىArticle on both nouns.
✓شَهَادَة السُّكْنَى“The residence certificate”.
And the -t: shahada s-sukna sounds clipped. shahadat.
Application for a residence certificate
A sample form, written for this lesson with no real institution's letterhead. The procedure it describes is the usual one: the district office and the mokadem's visit.
طَلَبْ شَهَادَة السُّكْنَى
الِاسْمْ الْعَايْلِي: ................ الِاسْمْ الشَّخْصِي: ................
رَقْمْ بِطَاقَة التَّعْرِيفْ: ................
الْعُنْوَانْ: ................ مُدَّة السُّكْنَى: ................
الْوْثَايْقْ: نُسْخَة مْنْ بِطَاقَة التَّعْرِيفْ · عَقْدْ الْكْرَا وْلَّا عَقْدْ الْمُلْكْ · فَاتُورَة الضَّوْ وْلَّا الْمَا
مْلَاحْظَة: الطَّلَبْ كَيْتّْسَلّْمْ لْلْمُقَاطَعَة. الْمُقَدّْمْ كَيْجِي يْشُوفْ الْعُنْوَانْ قْبَلْ مَا تْخْرُجْ الشَّهَادَة.
التَّارِيخْ: ........ التَّوْقِيعْ: ........
Did you follow?
Which documents must be attached?
Show answers
A copy of the ID card, the lease or title deed, and an electricity or water bill.
Where is it handed in?
Show answers
At the district office: l-muqata3a.
Who checks the address?
Show answers
The mokadem.
When is the certificate issued?
Show answers
After the mokadem's visit.
Check
Two here, three more in the B1 book.
Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the B1 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.
1Match
The two halves of each document name.
| 1 | شَهَادَة | a | التَّعْرِيفْ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | عَقْدْ | b | السُّكْنَى |
| 3 | بِطَاقَة | c | السِّيَاقَة |
| 4 | رُخْصَة | d | الْكْرَا |
2Street to counter
Turn the dyal form into an iḍāfa.
- الْوْرَقَة دْيَالْ السُّكْنَى
- الْكُونْطْرَا دْيَالْ الْكْرَا
- الْفَاتُورَة دْيَالْ الضَّوْ
- الرَّاجْلْ مُولْ الدَّارْ
3True or false?
According to the form.
- A copy of the ID card is needed.
4Pick the right one
The correctly built iḍāfa.
- شَهَادَة السُّكْنَى
- الشَّهَادَة السُّكْنَى
- شَهَادَة سُكْنَى الْ
5Your paperwork
In five sentences, describe a procedure you did or need to do: which paper, where, what you brought.
شَهَادَة السُّكْنَىعَقْدْ الْكْرَاالْمُقَاطَعَةخَصّْنِيبَاشْ
The rest is in the B1 book
The B1 bookShow answers
| 1. Match | 1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c |
|---|---|
| 2. Street to counter | شَهَادَة السُّكْنَى · عَقْدْ الْكْرَا · فَاتُورَة الضَّوْ · مُولْ الدَّارْ |
The B1 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Form compound nouns without dyal, in Darija order.
- Put the article only on the second noun.
- Name common documents and offices.
- Fill in an application form.