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Module 4 · Shopping and money

Lesson 35 · Elementary · 4 min

Sizes: trying something on

Asking for your size, trying on, and saying if it’s too small, too big or too long.

  • Unreviewed: this lesson’s Darija and translations have not yet been checked by a native speaker.

In this lesson

  • Ask for your size
  • Say how something fits
  • Ask for a bigger or smaller one

Clothes are easy to alter in Morocco: the tailor (“lkhiyyat”) can take up a hem in minutes.

No audio for this lesson yet

This lesson hasn’t been recorded yet, and we won’t fake it with a made-up voice. Read the dialogue out loud with the help of the transliteration key.

Dialogue

  1. TomWach kayn had sserwal f l9yas dyali?Do you have these trousers in my size?
  2. HoudaChhal l9yas dyalek?What’s your size?
  3. TomJouj w rb3in.Forty-two.
  4. HoudaHak. Jerrbou f lcabine.Here. Try them on in the fitting room.
  5. TomSghir 3liya chwiya. Wach kayn kbir chwiya?They’re a bit small for me. Do you have a bigger size?
  6. HoudaHak rb3a w rb3in. Kif ja?Here’s a 44. How do they fit?
  7. TomMzyan, ja m9ad. Walakin twil bzzaf.Good, they fit. But they’re too long.
  8. HoudaMa kayn mochkil, lkhiyyat y9essou lik.No problem, the tailor will shorten them for you.
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

l9yasالقياس
size
sserwalالسروال
trousers
jerrebجرب
to try (on)
lcabineالكابين
the fitting room
sghirصغير
small
kbirكبير
big
kif ja?كيف جا؟
how does it fit?
ja m9adجا مقاد
it fits well
twilطويل
long
9sirقصير
short
lkhiyyatالخياط
the tailor
9essقص
to cut, shorten

Repeat after me

Read each phrase out loud, then cover it and say it from memory.

  • Wach kayn had sserwal f l9yas dyali?

    واش كاين هاد السروال فالقياس ديالي؟

    Do you have these trousers in my size?

  • Chhal l9yas dyalek?

    شحال القياس ديالك؟

    What’s your size?

  • Sghir 3liya chwiya. Wach kayn kbir chwiya?

    صغير عليا شوية. واش كاين كبير شوية؟

    They’re a bit small for me. Do you have a bigger size?

  • Mzyan, ja m9ad. Walakin twil bzzaf.

    مزيان، جا مقاد. ولكن طويل بزاف.

    Good, they fit. But they’re too long.

Quiz

  1. Question 1 of 7What’s the problem with the size 44?
  2. Question 2 of 7Fill in the blankSghir 3liya chwiya. Wach kayn chwiya?It’s a bit small for me. Do you have a bigger one?
  3. Question 3 of 7What does “ja m9ad” mean?
  4. Question 4 of 7Match each expression with its meaning.
  5. Question 5 of 7What does “twil” mean?
  6. Question 6 of 7How do you say “to cut, shorten” in Darija?
  7. Question 7 of 7 · Review from lesson 32Review (lesson 32): what does “ila” mean?

Your turn

Ask for a shirt in your size, say it’s too big and ask for a smaller one.

Show an example answer

L9yas dyali tmnya w tlatin. … Kbira 3liya. Wach kayna sghira chwiya?

القياس ديالي تمنية وتلاتين. … كبيرة عليا. واش كاينة صغيرة شوية؟

My size is 38. … It’s too big for me. Do you have it a bit smaller?

Summary

“Chhal l9yas dyalek?”, “jerreb”, “sghir / kbir / twil 3liya”, “kif ja?” – “ja m9ad”.

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