Lesson 39 · Elementary · 4 min
Quantities
Buying fruit, milk and eggs: a kilo, a bit more, a bit less.
- Unreviewed: this lesson’s Darija and translations have not yet been checked by a native speaker.
In this lesson
- Ask for precise quantities
- Say “more” and “less”
- React when something is out of stock
At the fruit stall you point and adjust: “kter chwiya” (a bit more), “9el” (less), “hakka” (like that).
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
- Customer3tini kilo d lbanan w nss kilo d tteffa7.Give me a kilo of bananas and half a kilo of apples.
- StallholderWakha. W ach khra?Okay. What else?
- CustomerChi chwiya d l3neb… la, kter chwiya.A little grapes… no, a bit more.
- StallholderHakka? Wla 9el?Like this? Or less?
- CustomerHakka mzyan. W juj 9ar3at d l7lib.That’s good. And two bottles of milk.
- StallholderL7lib sala. Kayn ghir lben.The milk’s run out. There’s only lben.
- CustomerWakha, 3tini wa7d lben w 3elba d lbid.Okay, give me a lben and a box of eggs.
- StallholderHak. Kolchi f mika wa7da?Here you go. Everything in one bag?
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
- lbananالبنان
- bananas
- tteffa7التفاح
- apples
- l3nebالعنب
- grapes
- kterكتر
- more
- 9elقل
- less
- hakkaهكا
- like this
- l7libالحليب
- milk
- lbenاللبن
- lben (buttermilk)
- 3elbaعلبة
- a box, carton
- lbidالبيض
- eggs
- mikaميكا
- a plastic bag
- salaسالا
- sold out, finished
Repeat after me
Read each phrase out loud, then cover it and say it from memory.
3tini kilo d lbanan w nss kilo d tteffa7.
عطيني كيلو د البنان ونص كيلو د التفاح.
Give me a kilo of bananas and half a kilo of apples.
Chi chwiya d l3neb… la, kter chwiya.
شي شوية د العنب… لا، كتر شوية.
A little grapes… no, a bit more.
Hakka mzyan. W juj 9ar3at d l7lib.
هكا مزيان. وجوج قرعات د الحليب.
That’s good. And two bottles of milk.
Wakha, 3tini wa7d lben w 3elba d lbid.
واخا، عطيني واحد اللبن وعلبة د البيض.
Okay, give me a lben and a box of eggs.
Quiz
Your turn
Make a shopping list in Darija with four items and their quantities.
Show an example answer
Kilo d lbanan, nss kilo d l3neb, 3elba d lbid w juj 9ar3at d l7lib.
كيلو د البنان، نص كيلو د العنب، علبة د البيض وجوج قرعات د الحليب.
A kilo of bananas, half a kilo of grapes, a box of eggs and two bottles of milk.
Summary
Kilo, nss kilo, 3elba, 9ar3a; “kter chwiya”, “9el”, “hakka”; and “sala” when it’s sold out.
Finished?
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