If you’d like to learn Darija (which is the name for Moroccan Arabic), then you can do it the hard way or the easy way, or something in between.
The hardest way is to memorize complete phrases, like “How much does this cost?” without understanding what each individual word means or how they fit together. Not only does it tax your brain to do so much memorization, but you may never learn to speak or understand sentences which aren’t exactly the same.
In between, you can choose from various textbooks available. One designed by the Peace Corps is okay, while most others I’ve found are terribly frustrating, and make learning a difficult and unpleasant, discouraging process.
The easiest way is designed into the University of Life’s Learn Darija (Moroccan Arabic) Effortlessly!
Its 30 chapters explain key concepts you’ll need to understand, including the Arabic alphabet, pronouns, and verbs in simple terms. But then it employs the secret sauce which makes language learning easy! That secret is progressive sentences.
These sentences begin with one or two words (with both Arabic and Latin letters for pronunciation), followed by their translation. Then those words repeat, but add more to it, then they grow again until the sentence is complete. This way you’ll understand exactly what each word means and how everything fits together with no need for complex explanations. It’s the perfect balance between the most boring, analytic textbooks and apps like Duolingo, which in my opinion go too far in the “no explanations” direction.
Because you understand words and phrases thoroughly, it becomes simple swap out a word or two and generate new sentences which you’ve never even seen before! This is the quickest and easiest path to fluency and confidence.
This means you don’t necessarily need to buckle down, focus, and memorize charts and rules, you can simply review and repeat the progressive sentence examples until they naturally stick in your brain. Then, if you like, you can review the rules, which you already know by now, for an even more solid understanding of how everything works.
As an added bonus, Learn Darija (Moroccan Arabic) Effortlessly! costs about half as much as most books teaching Darija. Ready to begin your “effortless” journey to fluency in Darija? Terrific! Get your copy at https://amzn.to/4h8QVk9
Then return to this page where we’ll post helpful resources, like audio recordings of the words and sentences in each chapter so you’ll know exactly how to pronounce them.
Chapter One Audio
Listen to the audio from Chapter One and practice your pronunciation. Each phrase is repeated twice, then the English translation given, then repeated twice more. Pause any time to practice saying it yourself.
