The Verb “To Please / To Like”

Lesson objective

In this lesson, you will learn how to express likes and dislikes with the verb 3jb.

How “to like” works in Darija

In Darija, it is not common to say the exact equivalent of I like something. Instead, the sentence is formed with the meaning Something pleases me.

For example, I like couscous literally means Couscous pleases me. The person who likes something is represented by an object-pronoun ending. The thing that is liked is the subject of the sentence, and the verb must agree with the gender and number of the thing that is liked.

Present-tense structure

Use one of these prefixes according to the thing that is liked:

Subject	Prefix
Masculine singular	kay-
Feminine singular	kat-
Masculine or feminine plural	kay- (+ -u)

The verb root is 3jb. For a plural subject, add -u, then add the object-pronoun ending for the person who likes it.

Object-pronoun endings

English	Darija
Me	-ni
You — singular	-k
Him	-u / -h
Her	-ha
Us	-na
You — plural	-kum
Them	-hum

Basic examples

kay-3jbni — I like it (masc. sing. thing). Literally: it pleases me.

kat-3jbni — I like it (fem. sing. thing). Literally: it pleases me.

kay-3jbuni — I like them (plural things). Literally: they please me.

The same plural verb form is used for masculine and feminine plural subjects.