You want to learn Darija, but you don't know where to start or how much time to spend on it. Good news: you don't need to pay for a course or set aside an hour a day. With 10 minutes a day and a logical order, in one month you can build a solid base to get by in everyday situations.
Here is a simple week-by-week plan you can follow for free.
The golden rule: few words, but every day
The classic mistake is learning 50 words on Sunday and nothing for the rest of the week. Your memory works better with small, repeated doses. The pace we recommend:
- 5 new words a day, no more;
- today's reviews: the words from previous days, which spaced repetition brings back just before you forget them;
- say each word out loud, even when you are alone at home.
Five words a day sounds like very little. Over 30 days, though, that adds up to 150 words you actually remember — enough to greet people, say thank you, order food, ask for a price or for directions. It is also exactly the pace of VocaBag's free version, which offers 5 new words a day and unlimited reviews.
Before you start: reading the transliteration
In Darija written in Latin letters, two numbers keep coming up: 3 stands for the letter ع and 7 for the letter ح, two sounds that don't exist in English. When you see صباح الخير (sba7 lkhir) — good morning, the 7 is pronounced like an "h" breathed out from the back of the throat. Listen to each word's audio rather than guessing.
Week 1: greetings and politeness
Start with what you will say most often. Greetings open every conversation, and Moroccans really appreciate it when a foreigner makes the effort to use them.
A few words from this first week:
- لاباس (labas) — how are you? / all good;
- بخير (bkhir) — fine;
- شكرا (shukran) — thank you;
- عفاك (3fak) — please;
- بسلامة (bslama) — goodbye.
You will find all the polite phrases in the article Greetings in Darija.
Week 2: basic expressions and food
Once you can greet people, tackle the little expressions that turn up in every sentence, then food vocabulary. Eating is one of the first chances to speak Darija: at a restaurant, at the market, at a friend's table.
Week 3: getting around and shopping
Third step: travel, transport and directions, then the market and shopping, with numbers. This is when you become independent: asking where something is, understanding a price, taking a taxi.
Week 4: talking about yourself and others
Finish with family, emotions and daily activities. You then move from "surviving" to "chatting": introducing your family, saying how you feel, describing your day.
The 10-minute routine
Every day, in this order:
- 2 minutes: today's reviews, before anything new;
- 5 minutes: your 5 new words, listening to each one and repeating it;
- 3 minutes: a short quiz (multiple choice or matching) on the week's words.
What matters most is not the length but the regularity. A 30-day streak without a break is worth far more than a few big, scattered sessions. To understand why this pace works, read Spaced repetition: the method for memorising a language.
After 30 days
You will know about 150 words, the main polite phrases and enough vocabulary for common situations. To go further:
- keep the same pace with the other topics, such as colours, body and health, or the home;
- reuse every word you learn with Moroccans as soon as you can;
- if you are still torn between Darija and Standard Arabic for what comes next, the article Darija vs Standard Arabic helps you choose.
All the vocabulary is sorted by topic, with no account needed, on the Moroccan Darija vocabulary page.