Skip to main content
DarijaGo
All lessons

Module 9 · Grammar and communication

Lesson 86 · Lower intermediate · 4 min

Gender and number

Masculine, feminine and plural of nouns and adjectives, while visiting a flat.

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

In this lesson

  • Make adjectives feminine and plural
  • Recognise common irregular plurals
  • Describe a home

Feminine: often -a (kbir → kbira). Adjective plural: often -in (mzyan → mzyanin) or an internal change (kbir → kbar). Many nouns have a “broken” plural: bit → byout.

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. Agent immobilierHadi ddar. Fiha tlt byout.This is the house. It has three bedrooms.
  2. MalinLbyout kbar wla sghar?Are the bedrooms big or small?
  3. Agent immobilierJuj kbar w wa7d sghir. W lkouzina kbira.Two big ones and a small one. And the kitchen is big.
  4. MalinLbnat dyali ghadi ykounou f nefs lbit?Will my daughters share a room?
  5. Agent immobilierIla bghiti. Lbit sghir mzyan l bent wa7da.If you like. The small room is good for one girl.
  6. MalinW jjiran? Mzyanin?And the neighbours? Are they nice?
  7. Agent immobilierMzyanin bzzaf. Jarna l7aj w mratou, nas mzyanin.Very nice. Our neighbour the Hajj and his wife are good people.
  8. MalinWakha. Ddar zwina w lbyout mzyanin.Okay. The house is lovely and the bedrooms are good.
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

bit / byoutبيت / بيوت
room / rooms
bent / bnatبنت / بنات
girl, daughter / girls
wld / wladولد / ولاد
boy / boys, children
dar / dyourدار / ديور
house / houses
kbir / kbira / kbarكبير / كبيرة / كبار
big (m. / f. / pl.)
sghir / sghira / sgharصغير / صغيرة / صغار
small (m. / f. / pl.)
mzyan / mzyana / mzyaninمزيان / مزيانة / مزيانين
good, nice (m. / f. / pl.)
jar / jiranجار / جيران
neighbour / neighbours
nasناس
people
ktab / ktoubaكتاب / كتوبة
book / books
nefsنفس
the same

Repeat after me

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

  • Hadi ddar. Fiha tlt byout.

    هادي الدار. فيها تلت بيوت.

    This is the house. It has three bedrooms.

  • Lbyout kbar wla sghar?

    البيوت كبار ولا صغار؟

    Are the bedrooms big or small?

  • Juj kbar w wa7d sghir. W lkouzina kbira.

    جوج كبار وواحد صغير. والكوزينة كبيرة.

    Two big ones and a small one. And the kitchen is big.

  • W jjiran? Mzyanin?

    والجيران؟ مزيانين؟

    And the neighbours? Are they nice?

Quiz

  1. Question 1 of 7How many bedrooms does the house have?
  2. Question 2 of 7Fill in the blankLbyout kbar wla ?Are the bedrooms big or small?
  3. Question 3 of 7What is the plural of “bent”?
  4. Question 4 of 7Match each expression with its meaning.
  5. Question 5 of 7What does “kbir / kbira / kbar” mean?
  6. Question 6 of 7How do you say “book / books” in Darija?
  7. Question 7 of 7 · Review from lesson 34Review (lesson 34): what does “khder / khadra” mean?

Your turn

Describe your home: how many rooms, big or small, and your neighbours.

Show an example answer

Ddar dyali sghira: fiha juj byout sghar. Jjiran dyali mzyanin.

الدار ديالي صغيرة: فيها جوج بيوت صغار. الجيران ديالي مزيانين.

My home is small: it has two small rooms. My neighbours are nice.

Summary

Feminine in -a (kbira, sghira, mzyana); plurals: kbar, sghar, mzyanin; nouns: byout, bnat, wlad, dyour, jiran.

Finished?

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

Review these lessons