Moroccan Arabic translator (Darija)
Moroccan Arabic translator: the box below writes your English in Darija, the Arabic of Casablanca, Rabat and Fez, which even other Arabs find hard to follow. You get harakat, the Standard Arabic line, a transliteration in the chat spelling Moroccans use and a Listen button. Free, no account, nothing stored.
Translations are generated by an AI model and can be wrong; the Standard Arabic line is there so you can compare. Up to 1000 characters at a time.
What you get on this page
- Darija is pre-selected. Swap the direction to decode a message from Morocco, whether it arrived in Arabic script or in Latin letters.
- Under every result: vowel marks (useful in Darija, where the short vowels nearly vanish), the MSA version, a Latin line, Copy and Listen.
- Free with a daily site-wide limit, 1,000 characters per request, no account, nothing stored.
How Moroccan Arabic differs from Standard Arabic
Darija is the Arabic that Middle Eastern speakers find hardest to follow, and the reasons show up in the first sentence. Short vowels collapse, so kitaab becomes ktaab and good morning is sbaa7 l-kheer with a consonant cluster at the front. Present verbs take a ka- prefix (kanakul, I eat) and the negative wraps them in ma-...-sh. The number two is juuj, now is daaba, and a lot is bazzaaf, none of which exist east of Libya. French supplies everyday words (tomobil, car) and Amazigh underlies much of the rhythm.
What stays the same is the written language: Moroccans read fusha in school and in the news, which is why the MSA line under each Darija result is useful for formal messages. The table lines the two forms up.
| English | MSA (harakat) | MSA, how it reads | Dialect (harakat) | Dialect, how it reads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How? | كَيْفَ | kayfa | كِيفَاش | keefaash |
| I want | أُرِيدُ | ureedu | بْغِيت | bgheet |
| Good, fine | جَيِّد | jayyid | مِزْيَان (m.) / مِزْيَانَة (f.) | mizyaan / mizyaana |
| What? | مَاذَا | maadhaa | أَشْنُو | ashnuu |
| Now | الآنَ | al-aana | دَابَا | daaba |
Common Moroccan phrases
Fourteen lines for a market in Marrakesh or a family group chat. Darija has fewer gender splits in these basics than Egyptian, but the ones that exist are marked.
| English | Arabic (harakat) | How it reads |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | سَلَام | salaam |
| Good morning | صْبَاح الخِير | sbaa7 l-kheer |
| How are you? | لَابَاس؟ | labaas? |
| I'm fine, thank God | بِخِير، الحَمْدُ لِلّٰه | bikheer, l-7amdu llaah |
| Thank you | شُكْرًا | shukran |
| Thank you (warm) | بَارَكَ اللّٰهُ فِيك | baaraka llaahu feek |
| Please | عَافَاك (m.) / عَافَاكِ (f.) | 3aafaak / 3aafaaki |
| Sorry / excuse me | سْمَح لِيَّا (m.) / سْمَحِي لِيَّا (f.) | sma7 liyya / sma7i liyya |
| Where is the bathroom? | فِين بِيت المَا؟ | feen beet l-ma? |
| How much is this? | بْشْحَال هَادَا؟ | bsh7aal haada? |
| I don't understand | مَا فْهَمْتْش | maa fhamtsh |
| Yes / No | إِيَه / لَا | eeyeh / laa |
| One, two, three | وَاحَد، جُوج، تْلَاتَة | waa7ad, juuj, tlaata |
| Goodbye | بْسْلَامَة | bslaama |
Does Google Translate support Moroccan Arabic?
No. Google Translate returns Modern Standard Arabic, which a Moroccan reads but would never text; most general translators output Standard Arabic only. Ask Google for I want to go now and it gives ureedu an adhhaba l-aana; a Casablancan writes bgheet nmshi daaba. Google also leaves out vowel marks, and in Darija, where consonants pile up, that makes the result close to unreadable for a learner. Here the Darija line and the MSA line come together, both with harakat, plus a Latin line in the spelling Moroccans actually type.
Moroccan Arabic translator: accuracy and limits
An AI language model writes the translation. It is reliable for short everyday messages and less so for slang, humor, poetry and legal or medical text; Darija also changes between Casablanca, Fez and the north, and the model leans on the Casablanca-Rabat standard you hear on Moroccan TV. The MSA line is there to compare, and a Moroccan friend is the final check. Never use it for contracts, medical instructions or official papers.
Each request takes up to 1,000 characters (about 150 words); the whole site shares one daily free limit and the page tells you when it is reached. Text only: no PDFs, photos, OCR or microphone, no app, nothing to buy, nothing stored. Direction pages: English to Moroccan Arabic and Moroccan Arabic to English. French speakers can start from French to Arabic, and the transliteration page explains the Latin line.
Frequently asked questions
What is Darija?
Darija is the Moroccan word for the spoken dialect, as opposed to fusha, the written Standard Arabic. Algerian and Tunisian speech are close cousins; Egyptian and Gulf speakers usually need subtitles.
Does Google Translate support Moroccan Arabic?
No. Google outputs Modern Standard Arabic only, without harakat. This page gives Darija with vowel marks and the MSA line next to it.
Can it translate a message typed in Latin letters, like 'labas 3lik'?
Paste it as it is and set the direction to Arabic to English with Moroccan as the dialect. Spellings vary from person to person, so check the voweled Arabic the page gives back before you trust the translation.
Will a Moroccan translation be understood in Algeria?
Mostly yes; Algerian and Moroccan Darija share most grammar and many words, with different everyday vocabulary. There is no separate Algerian setting yet.
Is the Moroccan Arabic translator free?
Yes, with a daily free limit for the whole site, no account and no credits.
Does it translate French to Darija?
French to Arabic is supported with the dialect selector, so choose French as the source and Moroccan as the dialect. The MSA line appears under the Darija result as usual.