Skip to main content
DarijaGo
All lessons

Module 3 · Food and cafés

Lesson 21 · Beginner · 4 min · 0:20 of audio

Atay: mint tea

Ordering mint tea, choosing the sugar, and paying.

  • Unreviewed: this lesson’s Darija and translations have not yet been checked by a native speaker.
  • Placeholder audio: a computer voice, not a native Darija speaker. Real recordings are coming.

Atay: mint tea

In this lesson

  • Order mint tea
  • Say how much sugar and how much tea
  • Ask for the bill and say thanks

“Atay” is everywhere: in cafés, homes and shops. It’s often served very sweet, so say how you like it.

Dialogue

How to read the transliteration

Darija is written here in Latin letters, the way many Moroccans text. A few symbols stand for sounds English, French and Swedish don't have:

3
a tight sound from the throat (Arabic ع)
7
a breathy h, stronger than English h (ح)
9
a k made deep in the throat (ق)
gh
like a French r (غ)
kh
like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach (خ)
ch
like English sh (ش)

Vocabulary

atayأتاي
tea (mint tea)
na3na3النعناع
mint
sokkarالسكر
sugar
blaبلا
without
chwiyaشوية
a little
lbrradالبراد
the teapot
lkasالكاس
the glass
l7sabالحساب
the bill
bchhalبشحال
how much (price)
tfdl / tfdliتفضل / تفضلي
here you are (to a man / to a woman)
lah ykhlefالله يخلف
thank you (when receiving payment)

Repeat after me

Play a phrase, then say it out loud during the pause.

  • 3afak, wa7d atay b na3na3.

    A mint tea, please.

  • Chwiya d sokkar.

    A little sugar.

  • F lbrrad sghir, 3afak.

    A small pot, please.

  • L7sab, 3afak. Bchhal?

    The bill, please. How much is it?

Quiz

  1. Question 1 of 8How do you ask “How much?”
  2. Question 2 of 8What does “bla sokkar” mean?
  3. Question 3 of 8What does the waiter often say when you pay?
  4. Question 4 of 8Fill in the blankF sghir, 3afak.A small pot, please.
  5. Question 5 of 8Match each expression with its meaning.
  6. Question 6 of 8What does “lbrrad” mean?
  7. Question 7 of 8How do you say “thank you (when receiving payment)” in Darija?
  8. Question 8 of 8 · Review from lesson 6Review (lesson 6): what does “tlata” mean?

Your turn

Order a pot of tea with little sugar, then ask for the bill.

Show an example answer

3afak, wa7d lbrrad d atay, b chwiya d sokkar. … L7sab, 3afak.

عافاك، واحد البراد د أتاي، بشوية د السكر. … الحساب، عافاك.

A pot of tea, please, with a little sugar. … The bill, please.

Summary

“Wa7d atay b na3na3”, “bla / chwiya d sokkar”, “f lbrrad wla f lkas”, then “l7sab, 3afak” and “lah ykhlef”.

Finished?

Your progress is saved in this browser, on this device only. It is not synced to your other devices.

Review these lessons