Darija for beginners: your first 50 words

Forget the 1,000-word vocabulary lists. You don't need them yet. You need the 50 words that cover 80% of daily interactions in Morocco. The ones that let you greet people, buy things, eat, move around, and not feel completely lost.

These are ranked roughly by how often you'll use them in Marrakech. Word #1 comes up more than word #50. Learn the first 10 and you can survive. Learn all 50 and you're functional.

Why these 50 words specifically

This list wasn't pulled out of thin air. It's based on frequency analysis of actual conversations in Moroccan markets, cafes, taxis, and homes. Linguists call this the Pareto principle of language learning: a tiny fraction of words does the heavy lifting. In English, the top 100 words account for about 50% of all speech. Darija works the same way.

The difference with Darija is that nobody has published a proper frequency dictionary for it. It's not Modern Standard Arabic. It's not French. It lives in people's mouths, not in textbooks. So we built this list the hard way: by recording and transcribing hundreds of real interactions in Marrakech and counting which words showed up the most. We then cross-referenced with what a foreigner actually needs. A Moroccan says "dyal" (of/belonging to) constantly, but a beginner can survive without it. "Bsh7al" (how much?) is less frequent in raw count but infinitely more useful for someone who needs to buy water.

The result is a list optimized for survival, not linguistic completeness. Every word here earns its spot by being immediately useful in a real situation you will face in your first month in Morocco.

The number-letter system: read this first

Before you look at the word list, you need to understand something that trips up every beginner. Darija has sounds that don't exist in English or French. Since there's no official Latin-alphabet spelling for Darija, Moroccans invented a clever system: they use numbers to represent Arabic sounds that have no Latin equivalent.

Here are the numbers you will see in this list and everywhere Moroccans text each other:

Number	Sound	How to say it
3	ain (ع)	A deep, throaty vowel. Squeeze your throat like you're gagging gently. Say "aah" but from way deeper. English has nothing like it.
7	ha (ح)	A breathy, forceful "h." Not the soft English "h" in "hello." Push air hard from your throat, like you're fogging a mirror but more aggressive.
9	qaf (ق)	A "k" sound made at the very back of your throat, almost in your uvula. Like "k" but deeper. Some beginners start with a hard "g" and that's close enough.

Two more sounds to know that are spelled with letters, not numbers:

Letters	Sound	How to say it
kh	kha (خ)	Like the "ch" in Scottish "loch" or German "Bach." A raspy, back-of-the-throat sound. You're clearing your throat politely.
gh	ghain (غ)	Like gargling water very gently. The French "r" in "Paris" is actually close. If you speak French, use your French "r" and you're 90% there.

Don't stress about perfecting these sounds on day one. Moroccans are incredibly forgiving with pronunciation. If you say "afak" instead of "3afak," people will still understand you. The effort matters more than the accuracy. But knowing the system means you can read any Darija written in Latin script, which is how most Moroccans text each other on WhatsApp and social media.

Words 1-10: you need these on day one

#	Darija	Arabic	English
1	wakha	واخا	OK / alright
2	salam	سلام	hello / peace
3	shukran	شكرا	thank you
4	labas	لاباس	fine / how are you
5	3afak	عفاك	please
6	la	لا	no
7	iyeh	إيه	yes
8	bsh7al	بشحال	how much?
9	daba	دابا	now
10	yallah	يالله	let's go

With just these 10 you can say hello, say goodbye, agree, disagree, ask prices, express urgency, and be polite about it. That covers more situations than you'd think. Ready for more? See our 100 essential phrases.

"Wakha" is number one for a reason. It's the Swiss Army knife of Darija. It means OK, alright, agreed, understood, fine, sure. You'll hear it ten times in a five-minute conversation. A taxi driver names his price: "wakha." Your host asks if you want more tea: "wakha." Someone explains directions you didn't fully understand: "wakha." It buys you time and keeps the conversation going even when you're lost.

Words 11-25: first week

#	Darija	English
11	bzzaf	a lot / too much
12	shwiya	a little
13	fin	where?
14	atay	mint tea
15	khobz	bread
16	ma	water
17	floos	money
18	mezyan	good / nice
19	kbir	big
20	sghir	small
21	bgha	to want (bghit = I want)
22	msha	to go (mshit = I went)
23	kul	to eat (klit = I ate)
24	bnin	delicious
25	zwina	beautiful

This batch adds the ability to describe things (big, small, good, beautiful), ask where things are, and talk about food and money. Notice the pattern with verbs: Darija verbs change their ending based on who's doing the action. "Bgha" is the base form (to want), but you'll say "bghit" (I want) most of the time. Don't worry about memorizing all the conjugations now. Just learn the "I" form for each verb and you can communicate anything.

Words 26-50: first month

#	Darija	English
26	dar	house / home
27	trig	road / way
28	9hwa	coffee
29	7lib	milk
30	l7m	meat
31	skkar	sugar
32	ml7	salt
33	zit	oil
34	nhar	day
35	lil	night
36	ghda	tomorrow
37	lbar7	yesterday
38	3end	to have (3endi = I have)
39	dir	to do / make (drt = I did)
40	gal	to say (glt = I said)
41	chaf	to see (chft = I saw)
42	khdem	to work
43	kteb	to write
44	ja	to come (jit = I came)
45	7mer	red
46	kh7el	black
47	byed	white
48	s7ab	friends
49	weld / bent	son / daughter
50	kanhibbak	I love you

Word #50 is "I love you." Seems like an odd choice for a beginner list. But if you're learning Darija because of a Moroccan person in your life, it's probably the word you want most. And honestly? It's often the first one people look up.

Grouping by category: another way to think about these 50 words

The ranked list is useful for knowing what to learn first. But your brain doesn't store words by rank. It stores them in clusters of meaning. Here's the same 50 words reorganized by category, so you can see the patterns.

Greetings and social glue (6 words): salam, labas, shukran, 3afak, wakha, yallah. These are the words that make you a person instead of a tourist. You'll use them dozens of times a day. "Salam" opens every interaction. "Labas" keeps it going. "Shukran" closes it. "Wakha" holds the whole thing together.

Yes/no and basic questions (5 words): iyeh, la, bsh7al, fin, daba. With just these five words you can confirm, deny, ask prices, ask for locations, and establish when something is happening. Combine "fin" with any noun and you've got a question: "Fin dar?" (Where's the house?) "Fin trig?" (Where's the road?)

Food and drink (10 words): atay, khobz, ma, 9hwa, 7lib, l7m, skkar, ml7, zit, bnin. This is your kitchen and restaurant vocabulary. Morocco runs on bread, tea, and olive oil. "Bnin" (delicious) is the compliment that makes a Moroccan cook's day. Say it after every meal and you'll make friends for life. For the full food vocabulary, see our food ordering guide.

Descriptions and sizes (5 words): bzzaf, shwiya, kbir, sghir, mezyan, zwina. These let you modify everything. "Bzzaf" and "shwiya" are especially powerful in the souk: "bzzaf" means "too much" (as in, that price is too much), and "shwiya" means "a little" (give me a discount). "Zwina" (beautiful) works for objects, places, and people.

Place and time (6 words): dar, trig, nhar, lil, ghda, lbar7. Your sense of space and time. "Dar" is home, your anchor point. "Trig" is any road or path. And the time words let you talk about yesterday, today, and tomorrow, which covers most scheduling conversations.

Money (1 word): floos. Just the one, but it's essential. "Ma 3endish floos" (I don't have money) is a phrase you'll use more than you'd like to admit.

Action verbs (8 words): bgha, msha, kul, 3end, dir, gal, chaf, khdem, kteb, ja. These are the engines of your sentences. With "bghit" (I want) alone, you can express almost any need by adding a noun after it: "bghit ma" (I want water), "bghit atay" (I want tea), "bghit khobz" (I want bread).

Colors (3 words): 7mer, kh7el, byed. Red, black, white. Useful for describing things in the souk, identifying your riad door, or talking about what someone's wearing. You'll add more colors later, but these three cover the basics.

People and love (3 words): s7ab, weld/bent, kanhibbak. Friends, children, and love. These move you from transactional conversations into real human connection, which is the whole point of learning a language.

Day one survival dialogue: using only these 50 words

Here's a realistic scenario of your first day in Marrakech. Every single word in this dialogue comes from the list above. No cheating.

Scene: you arrive at a cafe near Jemaa el-Fna.

That entire interaction used only 12 of your 50 words. And it was a real, natural conversation. Not a textbook exercise. This is what daily life in Morocco actually sounds like. Short exchanges, lots of "wakha" and "shukran," and people genuinely happy that you're trying.

Now imagine the same day continues. You need directions to your riad:

Six words got you directions. "Shwiya shwiya" (slowly, slowly) is a lifesaver phrase. Moroccans speak fast. This politely asks them to slow down, and they always do.

Memory tricks that actually work

Vocabulary lists are useless if the words don't stick. Here are memory techniques we've seen work specifically for Darija:

Wakha = "wok-uh" — Imagine someone cooking in a wok and you ask "is that OK?" and they say "wok-uh!" It sounds like what it means: casual agreement.

Bzzaf = "buzz off" — "Bzzaf" means "too much." When something is too much, you want it to buzz off. The sounds are almost identical.

Shwiya = "shh, we-ya" — "A little bit" — picture someone shushing you to be quieter, smaller. "Shh, just a wee-ya bit."

Floos = "floss" — Money. You can't floss without money (dentists are expensive). Or: "floos" sounds like "loose" — loose change in your pocket.

Bnin = "banana" — Delicious. A ripe banana is "bnin." The "bn" sounds connect them.

Daba = "da-ba now" — Right now, immediately. Repeat "daba daba daba" fast and it sounds urgent, which is exactly what it means.

Yallah = "y'all-ah" — Let's go! Like calling your group: "y'all, ah, let's go!"

Mezyan = "amazing" — Good/nice. Mezyan and amazing share enough sounds that the connection sticks. Something "mezyan" is amazing.

Common mistakes beginners make with these words

After teaching Darija to hundreds of beginners, we see the same mistakes over and over. Here's how to avoid them.

Confusing "labas" as only "hello." It's both a greeting and a response. Someone says "labas?" (how are you?) and you reply "labas" (I'm fine). It's not just "hello" — that's "salam."

Saying "bsh7al" for everything. "Bsh7al" specifically means "how much" in terms of price or quantity. For "how" in general, you'll eventually learn "kifash." But for your first week, "bsh7al" is the only question word you need for shopping.

Forgetting the throat sounds. If you say "hlib" instead of "7lib" (with the deep, breathy H), you might not be understood. Practice the 7 and 3 sounds for five minutes a day. They're muscles you've never used, but they'll develop fast.

Over-conjugating verbs. Beginners try to learn all six conjugation forms. Don't. Learn "bghit" (I want), "mshit" (I went), "klit" (I ate). The "I" form handles 80% of what you need to say. Add other forms later.

Your learning plan: week by week

Week 1: Words 1-10. Focus on greetings and basic transactions. Use them in every interaction, even if you switch to French or English for the rest. Starting every conversation with "salam, labas?" makes an enormous difference in how people treat you.

Week 2: Words 11-25. Add food, descriptions, and your first verbs. You can now order in cafes, describe what you want in shops, and have mini-conversations. This is when it starts to feel real.

Week 3-4: Words 26-50. Fill in the gaps with time words, more verbs, colors, and relationship words. By the end of the month, you have a functional vocabulary that covers daily life.

The key is using the words, not just memorizing them. Flash cards are fine for initial exposure, but the real learning happens when you say "bghit atay, 3afak" to a real waiter in a real cafe. Moroccans will light up. They're not used to foreigners trying, and the encouragement you get will fuel your motivation more than any app could.

All 50 words are available with audio pronunciation on darija.love. Spaced repetition, native audio from Marrakech, and progress tracking. Start learning them today, free.

Want to practice all of this? Pro members get unlimited dialogues with Moroccan characters to drill grammar and vocabulary. See plans.