Describing Yourself
Say where you are from, describe a city, and recognize questions about nationality and marital status.
Where are you from?
| English | Darija | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| Where are you from? (to a man) | mnin nta? | منين نتَ؟ |
| Where are you from? (to a woman) | mnin nti? | منين نتِ؟ |
| I am from the U.S. | ana mn mirikan. | أنا من مريكان. |
| I am American. (male / female speaker) | ana mirikani / mirikaniya. | أنا مريكاني / مريكانية. |
| I am from Morocco. | ana mn l-mghrib. | أنا من المغرب. |
| I am Moroccan. (male / female speaker) | ana mghribi / mghribiya. | أنا مغربي / مغربية. |
| Are you…? (to a man / woman) | wesh nta / nti…? | واش نتَ / نتِ…؟ |
| Are you from the U.S.? | wesh nta / nti mn mirikan? | واش نتَ / نتِ من مريكان؟ |
| Where in the U.S. are you from? | mnin nta / nti f mirikan? | منين نتَ / نتِ ف مريكان؟ |
| And you? (to a man / woman) | u nta / nti? | ونتَ / نتِ؟ |
Cities and useful words
| English | Darija | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| city | mdina | مدينة |
| state | wilaya | ولاية |
| big (feminine) | kbira | كبيرة |
| small (feminine) | ṣghira | صغيرة |
| Excuse me. (to a man / woman) | sm7 li / sm7i li. | سمح لي / سمحي لي. |
| I am not… | ana mashi… | أنا ماشي… |
| but | welakin | ولكن |
More about yourself
| English | Darija | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| engaged (feminine) | mkhṭuba | مخطوبة |
| married (masculine / feminine) | mzuwj / mzuwja | مزوج / مزوجة |
| No, not yet. | lla mazal / lla baqi. | لا، مازال / لا، باقي. |
| Are you a tourist? | wesh nta / nti turist? | واش نتَ / نتِ توريست؟ |
| I work with the Peace Corps. (male / female speaker) | ana khddam / khddama m3a hay’at s-salam. | أنا خدام / خدامة مع هيئة السلام. |
The Peace Corps sentence is an example from the original course. Use it only if it accurately describes you.
Practice
Practice asking where someone is from. Then choose a nationality sentence that is true for you, or simply practice recognizing the source examples. Notice the feminine endings in mirikaniya, mghribiya, and mzuwja.
Reading guide
Transliteration key: 3 = ع, 7 = ح, sh = ش, kh = خ, gh = غ. A dot under a consonant marks an emphatic consonant. Latin spellings are reading aids; they do not fully capture pronunciation.
Source and audio
Adapted from Peace Corps/Morocco, Basic Introduction to Arabic, lesson 6 (PDF page 7). Formatting, English dialogue glosses where present, and practice prompts are LearnLahja adaptations.
Audio is not currently available for this lesson.