Darija lesson 77: how tea is made

1

Twenty-four words

Utensils, ingredients, cooking verbs and sequence words. Moroccan tea is Chinese green tea, atay, with fresh mint.

Utensils

الْبْرَّادْ l-berrad teapot
الْكِيسَانْ l-kisan (tea) glasses
الصِّينِيَّة s-siniyya tray
الْمَقْرَاجْ l-meqraj kettle
الْكَاسْ l-kas glass

Ingredients

أَتَايْ atay tea
No article: atay.
النّْعْنَاعْ n-ne3na3 mint
السّْكَّرْ s-sukkar sugar
الْقَالَبْ l-qaleb sugar loaf
The traditional cone.
الشِّيبَة sh-shiba wormwood
Used in winter instead of mint.

What you do

غْلَّى ghella to boil (something)
Transitive, Form II.
غْلَى ghla to boil
Intransitive.
غْسَلْ ghsel to wash; rinse
كْبّْ kebb to pour
خْلّْطْ khellet to mix
رْجّْعْ rejje3 to put back; pour back
ذَاقْ daq to taste

The order

اللُّوّْلْ l-luwwel first
عَادْ 3ad then; next
حْتَّى 7tta until
Bare verb after it.
فْالْأَخِيرْ f l-akhir finally

The finishing touch

الرّْغْوَة r-reghwa froth; foam
مْنْ الْفُوقْ men l-fuq from above
عْلَى خَاطْرْكْ 3la khatrek to taste; as you like

2

Three voices for a process

Four steps from the recipe. Who does each thing? Is there a sentence with nobody?

اللُّوّْلْ كَتْغَلِّي الْمَاl-luwwel katghelli l-ma
أَتَايْ كَيْتّْغْسَلْ بْشْوِيَّة دْ الْمَا السّْخُونْatay kayttghsel b shwiyya d l-ma s-skhun
كَتْخَلِّيهْ عْلَى الْعَافْيَة حْتَّى يْغْلِيkatkhellih 3la l-3afya 7tta yghli
عَادْ كَتْزِيدْ النّْعْنَاعْ3ad katzid n-ne3na3

Who is katghelli talking to? Who rinses the tea in line 2? What does the verb after 7tta lack?

The rule

A process can be told in three voices:

Imperative, mostly in writing: ghelli l-ma, “boil the water”.

Generic “you” with ka-, the most natural in speech: katghelli l-ma, u men b3d katzid atay. Not you personally: anyone.

“We” with ka-: how we do it at home: kanghelliw l-ma.

For what “gets done”, no matter who: tt-: atay kayttghsel, “the tea is rinsed”.

Order: l-luwwel, 3ad, men b3d, f l-akhir. And 7tta + bare verb: 7tta yghli, “until it boils”.

Recipe voices

Form	Say it	Means
غَلِّي الْمَا	ghelli l-ma	boil the water
كَتْغَلِّي الْمَا، وْ مْنْ بْعْدْ كَتْزِيدْ أَتَايْ	katghelli l-ma, u men b3d katzid atay	you boil the water, then you add the tea
كَنْغَلِّيوْ الْمَا	kanghelliw l-ma	we boil the water
أَتَايْ كَيْتّْغْسَلْ	atay kayttghsel	the tea gets rinsed
خَلِّيهْ حْتَّى يْغْلِي	khellih 7tta yghli	leave it until it boils
اللُّوّْلْ… عَادْ… فْالْأَخِيرْ…	l-luwwel… 3ad… f l-akhir…	first… then… finally…
كُبّْ مْنْ الْفُوقْ بَاشْ تْجِي الرّْغْوَة	kubb men l-fuq bash tji r-reghwa	pour from high up so it froths
زِيدْ السّْكَّرْ عْلَى خَاطْرْكْ	zid s-sukkar 3la khatrek	add sugar to taste

Row 2 is how people actually explain things out loud.

What English gives you, and what it costs

Free: generic “you”: “you boil the water, then you…”. Darija does exactly this.

Free: “the tea is rinsed” = atay kayttghsel. Passive for the process, no doer.

Costly: “until it boils” uses a normal present in English. Darija wants the bare verb: 7tta yghli.

Your mistake, not someone else's

“Until it boils” sounds like an ordinary present, so you add ka-. After 7tta, as after bash, the verb is bare.

×خَلِّيهْ حْتَّى كَيْغْلِيka- after 7tta.

✓خَلِّيهْ حْتَّى يْغْلِي“Leave it until it boils”.

With the past it's different: tsennit 7tta ghla, “I waited until it boiled”.

3

How tea is made

Tea as it's made in many Moroccan homes, written up for this lesson. Every family has its own version; this is a common one. Notice the three voices: you, we, and tt-.

كِيفَاشْ كَيْتّْوْجّْدْ أَتَايْ

١. اللُّوّْلْ كَتْغَلِّي الْمَا فْالْمَقْرَاجْ.

٢. كَتْحُطّْ جُوجْ مْعَالْقْ دْ أَتَايْ فْالْبْرَّادْ، وْ كَتْكُبّْ عْلِيهْ كَاسْ دْ الْمَا السّْخُونْ.

٣. هَادْ الْكَاسْ اللُّوّْلْ مَا كَيْتّْشْرْبْشْ: كَنْسَمِّيوْهْ «الرُّوحْ»، وْ كَنْخَلِّيوْهْ عْلَى جْنَبْ. مْنْ بْعْدْ أَتَايْ كَيْتّْغْسَلْ بْكَاسْ آخُرْ، وْ هَادَا كَيْتّْكَبّْ.

٤. كَتْرْجّْعْ «الرُّوحْ» لْلْبْرَّادْ، وْ كَتْزِيدْ السّْكَّرْ عْلَى خَاطْرْكْ، وْ عَادْ النّْعْنَاعْ.

٥. كَتْعَمّْرْ الْبْرَّادْ بْالْمَا السّْخُونْ، وْ كَتْحُطُّو عْلَى الْعَافْيَة حْتَّى يْغْلِي.

٦. كَتْكُبّْ كَاسْ وْ تْرْجّْعُو لْلْبْرَّادْ، جُوجْ وْلَّا تْلَاتْ الْمَرَّاتْ، بَاشْ يْتْخْلّْطْ مْزْيَانْ. كَتْذُوقْ.

٧. فْالْأَخِيرْ كَتْكُبّْ فْالْكِيسَانْ مْنْ الْفُوقْ، بَاشْ تْجِي الرّْغْوَة. بْالصَّحَّة.

How tea is made

Did you follow?

What is the tea's “soul”?
Show answers
The first glass, which isn't drunk but set aside.
What's the second glass for?
Show answers
Rinsing the tea; then it's thrown away.
When does the mint go in?
Show answers
After the sugar.
Why pour from high up?
Show answers
To make it froth.

4

Check

Two here, three more in the B2 book.

Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the B2 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.

1Put in order

Three recipe steps.

المااللولكتغلي
يغليعلىخليهحتىالعافية
الرغوةمنباشكبتجيالفوق

2Change the voice

Put each instruction into the voice in brackets.

غَلِّي الْمَا (نْتَا، كَ-)
زِيدْ السّْكَّرْ (حْنَا، كَ-)
كَنْغْسْلُو أَتَايْ (تّْ-)
كَتْكُبّْ الْكَاسْ (أَمْرْ)

3True or false?

According to the recipe.

The first glass of tea isn't drunk.

The rest is in the B2 book

3 more items, with the answers.

The B2 book

4Fill the gap

With the sequence word.

اللولعادحتىفالأخير

___ كنغسلو الخضرة

The rest is in the B2 book

3 more items, with the answers.

The B2 book

5Your recipe

In seven sentences, explain how to make a dish you can cook.

اللُّوّْلْكَتْ…كَيْتّْ…عَادْحْتَّىفْالْأَخِيرْ

The rest is in the B2 book

The B2 book

Show answers

1. Put in order	اللول كتغلي الما · خليه على العافية حتى يغلي · كب من الفوق باش تجي الرغوة
2. Change the voice	كَتْغَلِّي الْمَا · كَنْزِيدُو السّْكَّرْ · أَتَايْ كَيْتّْغْسَلْ · كُبّْ الْكَاسْ

The B2 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

Explain a process with generic “you”.
Use tt- for what “gets done”.
Order steps with l-luwwel, 3ad, f l-akhir.
Say “until” with 7tta.