How to Describe People in Moroccan Arabic (Darija)

How to Describe People in Moroccan Arabic (Darija)

Salam! Welcome to the blog. As a Darija instructor, one of the first things my students want to learn is how to describe the wonderful people they meet in Morocco. It's one of the best ways to connect! In this lesson we'll break down exactly how to do that, covering both a person's inner character and their physical appearance.

Yallah, let's get started!

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1. Describing Personality & Character Traits

Let's begin with the words that describe who a person is on the inside—their personality and character. Don't be intimidated by the long list! We'll start with the most common and useful ones, and I'll even provide some cultural notes to give you a deeper understanding.

English Meaning / Darija Term (Masculine) / Darija Term (Feminine)

Beautiful / Zwin (زوين) / Zwina (زوينة)

Kind / Dreyef (ظريف) / Dreyfa (ظريفة)

Talkative Heddar (هدار) / Fih qowwet l-hedra Heddara (هدارة) / Fiha qowwet l-hedra

Shy / Heshumi (حشومي) / Heshumia (حشومية)

Intelligent / Dki (ذكي) / Dkiya (ذكية)

Smiley / D7ouki (ضحوكي) / D7oukia (ضحوكية)

Organized / Mneddem (منظم) / Mneddma (منظمة)

Truthful / Righteous / Me39oul (معقول) Me39oula (معقولة)

Strange / Different / Mkhtalef (مختلف) Mkhtalfa (مختلفة)

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2. Describing Physical Appearance (الوصف الجسماني)

Now, let's move on to the words used to describe a person's physical looks, from their general build to specific features like their eyes and hair.

2.1 General Build, Appearance, and Age

Here are the essential adjectives for describing a person's overall physical characteristics.

Beautiful Zwin (زوين) Zwina (زوينة)

Ugly Khayeb (خايب) Khayba (خايبة)

Big / Older Kbir (كبير) Kbira (كبيرة)

Small / Young Sghir (صغير) Sghira (صغيرة)

Thin Rqiq (رقيق) Rqiqa (رقيقة)

Elderly / Old person Sharf (شارف) Sharfa (شرفة)

A Quick Note on Kbir: In Darija, describing someone as kbir (masc.) or kbira (fem.) doesn't just mean "big." It's also a common and respectful way to say someone is older, typically in their 40s or 50s, without calling them elderly (sharf/sharfa).

 Describing the Face (وصف الوجه)

You can describe a person's face shape with a few simple phrases. The source video gives a great example for a "round face": wjeh mdower (وجه مدور). Here are a couple more to add to your vocabulary:

* Round face: wjeh mdower (وجه مدور)

* Long face: wjeh twil (وجه طويل)

* White/pale face: wjeh byed (وجه بيض)

Describing Eyes (وصف العينين)

To describe eye color, the structure is 3endu 3aynin... (he has... eyes) or 3andha 3aynin... (she has... eyes). Let's put that directly into practice.

Black eyes 3endu 3aynin k7lin (عندو عينين كحلين) 3andha 3aynin k7lin (عندها عينين كحلين)

Blue eyes 3endu 3aynin zerqin (عندو عينين زرقين) 3andha 3aynin zerqin (عندها عينين زرقين)

Brown eyes 3endu 3aynin qehwiyin (عندو عينين قهويين) 3andha 3aynin qehwiyin (عندها عينين قهويين)

Hazel eyes 3endu 3aynin 3esliyin (عندو عينين عسليين) 3andha 3aynin 3esliyin (عندها عينين عسليين)

Describing Hair (وصف الشعر)

Similarly, for hair color, you can use the structure sh3eru... (his hair is...) or sh3erha... (her hair is...).

Black hair Sh3eru k7el (شعرو كحل) Sh3erha k7el (شعرها كحل)

Red hair Sh3eru a7mer (شعرو أحمر) Sh3erha a7mer (شعرها أحمر)

Blonde / Yellow hair Sh3eru sfer (شعرو صفر) or shqar (شقر) Sh3erha sfer (شعرها صفر) or shqra (شقرة)

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Conclusion

And there you have it!

B'ttawfiq (Good luck) on your Darija journey, and see you in the next lesson!