Darija lesson 6: yes-no questions and please

1

Sixteen phrases

Most of these are formulas: fixed blocks you learn whole. Several come in pairs, and the second half is not optional.

Asking nicely

عَافَاكْ 3afak please (to a man)
To a woman, 3afaki. English “please” never changes; this one follows the person, like ki dayr in lesson 1.
اللّٰهْ يْخَلِّيكْ llah ykhallik please (warmer)
Literally “may God keep you”. Softer than 3afak, for a favour rather than an order.
سْمَحْ لِيَّا sme7 liya excuse me; sorry (to a man)
Both “excuse me” to get past and “sorry”. To a woman, sm7i liya.
بْصَحّْتَكْ bsa7tek enjoy; to your health
Said to someone who has just eaten, had a bath or a haircut, or put on something new. It is not a toast.

Thanks, and the answer

شُكْرًا shukran thank you
Understood everywhere, and a little flat. The next one is what you will hear.
بَارَكْ اللّٰهُ فِيكْ barak llahu fik thank you (lit. God bless you)
The everyday thanks. It expects its answer, the next line.
اللّٰهْ يْبَارْكْ فِيكْ llah ybarek fik and God bless you
The reply to the one before. The two go together like the greeting pair in lesson 1.
بْلَا جْمِيلْ bla jmil you're welcome
Literally “without favour”: no debt. mar7ba from lesson 1 does the same job.

Yes, no, okay

إِيهْ iyeh yes
You will also hear a short ah, which means the same.
لَّا lla no
The l is doubled: hold it. A quick la sounds like Standard Arabic.
وَاخَّا wakha okay, agreed
The most useful word of the lesson. It answers a request, closes a deal, ends an argument.
صَافِي safi that's it; enough; fine
What you say when the waiter asks if you want anything else and you don't.
مَاشِي مُشْكِيلْ mashi mushkil no problem
The answer to sme7 liya. mushkil is “problem”.
إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰهْ in sha llah hopefully; God willing
Used for anything in the future, from tomorrow's weather to “see you later”. Not a yes, and not quite a no.

The question word

وَاشْ wash question marker
Put it in front, change nothing else. It is pronounced exactly like English “wash”.
وَاشْ مُمْكِنْ؟ wash mumkin? may I? is it possible?
wash on a single word. Point at a chair and say it.

2

The yes-or-no question

Three questions and an answer. Compare each question with the sentence it would be without its first word.

وَاشْ نْتِ مْنْ فَاسْ؟wash nti mn Fas?
وَاشْ هَادْ الطَّبْلَة خَاوْيَة؟wash had t-tabla khawya?
وَاشْ لَابَاسْ؟wash labas?
إِيهْ، لَابَاسْ، الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهْiyeh, labas, l-7amdu lillah

What happens to the rest of the sentence when it becomes a question?

The rule

Nothing happens to it. You put wash in front, and that is the whole operation.

nta maghribi is “you are Moroccan”. wash nta maghribi? is “are you Moroccan?”. The words stay where they were. No verb comes in, no word moves.

The answer usually repeats the sentence: iyeh, hadi qhwa, “yes, this is coffee”.

In quick speech, a rising voice can carry the question alone. wash is what makes it certain, and in writing it is always there.

Statement and question

Darija	Say	Means
نْتَ مَغْرِبِي	nta maghribi	you are Moroccan
وَاشْ نْتَ مَغْرِبِي؟	wash nta maghribi?	are you Moroccan?
هَادِي قْهْوَة	hadi qhwa	this is coffee
وَاشْ هَادِي قْهْوَة؟	wash hadi qhwa?	is this coffee?
إِيهْ، هَادِي قْهْوَة	iyeh, hadi qhwa	yes, this is coffee
لَّا، هَادَا أَتَايْ	lla, hada atay	no, this is tea

Read the pairs down. The only difference between each statement and its question is one word and a question mark.

What English hands you, and what it charges you

Charged, at first: English builds a question with machinery. “You are Moroccan” becomes “are you Moroccan?”: the verb jumps. “You want tea” becomes “do you want tea?”: a helper verb appears. Your hand will reach for that machinery, and there is nothing here to reach for.

Free, once you see it: the rule is simpler than yours. One word in front, no inversion, no do. A Darija speaker learning English has to master both; you only have to stop.

Charged: please and thank you. In English they are one word each, for everyone. Here please follows the gender of the listener, and thanks come with an answer attached.

Your mistake, not someone else's

Most Arabic phrasebooks in English teach Modern Standard Arabic, and give you hal for questions. It is a real word: it opens questions in the news and in writing. At a café table it sounds like a textbook.

×هَلْ نْتَ مَغْرِبِي؟Understood, and heard as Standard Arabic. Nobody talks like this at a table.

✓وَاشْ نْتَ مَغْرِبِي؟“Are you Moroccan?” The same sentence, with wash.

And the English one: looking for “are” or “do”. There is none to find. If a sentence feels too short to be a question, that is because Darija questions are short. Do not pad it with كَانْ, which is the past.

3

Six lines at a café

A customer walks in and a waiter answers. Written for this lesson: six turns, two questions with wash, and four of the polite formulas. The table is the one from lesson 5.

السَّلَامُ عْلِيكُمْ. وَاشْ هَادْ الطَّبْلَة خَاوْيَة؟

إِيهْ، مَرْحْبَا.

بْغِيتْ أَتَايْ، عَافَاكْ.

وَاخَّا. وَاشْ بْالسُّكَّرْ؟

لَّا، بْلَا سُكَّرْ. بَارَكْ اللّٰهُ فِيكْ.

اللّٰهْ يْبَارْكْ فِيكْ.

At the café: customer, waiter, in turn

Did you follow it?

How does the customer ask whether the table is free?
Show answers
وَاشْ هَادْ الطَّبْلَة خَاوْيَة؟ — wash, then the sentence from lesson 5 unchanged.
Does the customer want sugar?
Show answers
No: lla, bla sukkar, “no, without sugar”. In Morocco that is the unusual order.
Why does the waiter say llah ybarek fik at the end?
Show answers
Because the customer said barak llahu fik. That thanks has a fixed answer, and he gives it.
What does wakha answer?
Show answers
The order. “Okay”: the waiter has taken it.

4

Check

The formulas and their answers, and wash in front of whatever you want to ask.

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.

1True or false

Read each phrase and the statement about it. Is the statement right?

بْلَا جْمِيلْ You say this to thank someone.
وَاشْ نْتَ مَغْرِبِي؟ It can be answered with iyeh or lla.
وَاخَّا It means “okay”.
بْصَحّْتَكْ You say this when you meet someone.

2Match

Pair each line with what is said back to it.

1	شُكْرًا	a	إِيهْ، الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهْ
2	بَارَكْ اللّٰهُ فِيكْ	b	بْلَا جْمِيلْ
3	وَاشْ نْتِ لَابَاسْ؟	c	مَاشِي مُشْكِيلْ
4	سْمَحْ لِيَّا	d	اللّٰهْ يْبَارْكْ فِيكْ