28 letters, four shapes each
Moroccan Arabic, from English
Every explanation on this site is written for an English speaker: what your language hands you for free, and what it will cost you.
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The Arabic never moves. The explanation changes with your language.
Most Arabic courses were written for one reader, then translated for everyone else. This one is written three times: for English, Spanish and French speakers. Try it on the card: switch language and the note changes.
Five of the twenty-eight letters and of the first topics. The whole course works like this.
Three ways in, in order
-
01
ب
Lesson 1 is open
The script
Twenty-eight letters, four shapes each. The wall that stops everyone, and it takes weeks to climb.
-
02
دَ
Lesson 1: greetings
Darija
The one people actually speak: health, social services, neighbours. The house specialty.
-
03
فُ
In preparation
Fuṣḥā
Newspapers, books, the news, the Qur'an. Read everywhere, spoken on the street nowhere.
28 letters, four shapes each
Turn a card over. The back tells you what that letter costs an English speaker, with a Darija word that uses it.
Plus one letter Morocco added: ڭ, for the g of Darija.
Level A1, lesson by lesson
Eighteen lessons. Each one has the words, one piece of grammar, a real-looking text and five exercises.
- 01Greeting without a verbArriving, “How are you?”, Introductions, LeavingA1
- 02The l that disappearsThe home, Rooms, Getting in and up, Furniture, What the rent includesA1
- 03Every noun is he or shePeople, Mr and Mrs, The people near you, Jobs, in pairs, The building and the streetA1
- 04The house the whiteColors, Size and age, Good, nice, and what it costs, Hot and cold, Two things to wearA1
- 05This glass, that tableOn the table, Drinks and the rest, Getting servedA1
- 06Asking without “do”Asking nicely, Thanks, and the answer, Yes, no, okay, The question wordA1
- 07Where is the stationIn town, Getting there, The answerA1
- 08Counting at the stallOne to five, Six to ten, At the stall, A little, a lotA1
- 09Having without a verbParents and grandparents, Brothers, sisters, children, Husband and wife, HavingA1
- 10The bag of mineWhat you carry, What you wear, Whose, Lost and foundA1
- 11Two ways to say noLiking, Wanting and refusing, Passing judgement, Things to have an opinion onA1
- 12Six small words for whereGetting around, Places, Near and farA1
- 13What there is on your streetThe street, Shops and services, Exactly where, How much there isA1
- 14Two plurals, chosen by who is in the roomTrades, Women at work, Work, How many, how goodA1
- 15Mouse, mice; tbsil, tbaselOn the table, In the tajine, In the kitchenA1
- 16The verb that starts with whoGetting going, The working day, Evening, WhenA1
- 17Five and twenty dirhamsMoney, The price, Paying, AgeA1
- 18Quarter to sixThe week, Calendar words, At the stationA1
Sugar and alcohol
Both are Arabic. Both started with the article ال glued to the front. So why did alcohol keep its al- and sugar lose it entirely?
Fourteen Arabic letters swallow the l of the article — sun letters — and fourteen leave it: moon letters. Every al- word English kept is a moon-letter word. You have the vocabulary; the rule got sanded off on the way.
- الكُحْلalcoholmoon
- الجَبْرalgebramoon
- الكِيمِيَاءalchemymoon
- المَنَاخalmanacmoon
- السُّكَّرsugarsun
- الصِّفْرcipher · zerosun
- القُطْنcottonsun
- الزَّعْفَرَانsaffronsun
The A1 book
Everything on this site, and the other 51 exercises
The web keeps the explanations free, for good. The book is what pays for them: all 18 lessons of A1 in one PDF, laid out to print or to work on screen.
- All 90 exercises, five per lesson, with the answer key.
- The full A1 vocabulary, by lesson and by topic.
- A QR code on every word list that opens its audio here.
In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.