Describing Yourself

Lesson objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• ask and answer questions about nationality
• say where you come from
• talk about cities and states
• ask and answer questions about age
• talk about marital status
• say whether someone is a tourist
• use simple personal information in a conversation

Cultural points

Some personal questions can be sensitive in Morocco. Avoid asking people directly about their salary. Questions about age can also be sensitive, especially when speaking with women.

Men should avoid asking another person about his wife or other female family members — this could be understood as showing inappropriate interest. People may not always talk about their work or private concerns unless they are asked, and religion can also be a sensitive subject that some people prefer not to discuss.

Asking where someone comes from

English	Darija
Where are you from? — to a man	mnin nta?
Where are you from? — to a woman	mnin nti?

Saying where you come from

English	Darija
I am from the United States	ana mn mirikan.
I am from Morocco	ana mn l-mġrib.

Talking about nationality

English	Darija (man)	Darija (woman)
I am American	ana mirikani.	ana mirikaniya.
I am Moroccan	ana mġribi.	ana mġribiya.

The ending -iya is used for the feminine form.

Asking “Are you…?”

English	Darija
Are you…? — to a man	weš nta…?
Are you…? — to a woman	weš nti…?
Are you from the United States? — to a man	weš nta mn mirikan?
Are you from the United States? — to a woman	weš nti mn mirikan?

Asking about a city or place

English	Darija
Where are you from in the US? — to a man	mnin nta f mirikan?
Where are you from in the US? — to a woman	mnin nti f mirikan?
And you? — to a man / woman	u nta? / u nti?

Place vocabulary

English	Darija
City	mdina
State	wilaya
Big — feminine	kbira
Small — feminine	ṣġira

The words mdina and wilaya are feminine, so the feminine adjective forms kbira and ṣġira are used with them.

Useful personal expressions

English	Darija
Excuse me — to a man	smн li
Excuse me — to a woman	smнi li
I am not…	ana maši…
But	welakin

Marital status

English	Darija
Engaged — feminine	mxṭuba
Married — masculine	mzuwj
Married — feminine	mzuwja
No, not yet	lla mazal / lla baqi

Tourist and work

English	Darija
Are you a tourist? — to a man	weš nta turist?
Are you a tourist? — to a woman	weš nti turist?
I work with Darija Academy — man	ana xddam m3a Darija Academy.
I work with Darija Academy — woman	ana xddama m3a Darija Academy.

Dialogue

English meaning: Fatima and Tom greet each other, and Fatima asks if Tom is French. He explains he’s American, from Seattle, Washington, while Fatima is from Rabat. They exchange ages, ask about marital status, and Tom explains he works with Darija Academy rather than being a tourist, before saying goodbye.

Dialogue exercise

Complete the missing parts of a conversation by using the expressions from this lesson. The conversation should include:

• a greeting
• asking someone’s name
• asking whether the person is American
• asking where the person comes from
• saying goodbye