Numbers and Prices in Darija: Understand the Price Before You Pay

Short answer: Darija numbers start wa7ed, jouj, tlata (1, 2, 3), and you ask a price with b ch7al? ("how much?"). The catch is the answer: many Moroccans give prices in riyals, an old unit with no coins or notes, where 1 dirham = 20 riyals. So "mya ryal" (100 riyals) is only 5 dirhams. Learn the numbers below, then the riyal rule, and you will understand the price before you pay.

Numbers 1 to 10

Jouj is the everyday Moroccan word for "two". You may know ithnan from Modern Standard Arabic, but in a shop or a petit taxi you will hear jouj. If you are wondering why the two are so different, read how Darija and Modern Standard Arabic divide the work.

Numbers 11 to 19

These all end in -ach, which makes them easy to recognise:

Tens, hundreds and thousands

Numbers in between are said "units and tens", like the old English "four-and-twenty": 21 is wa7ed w 3echrin ("one and twenty"), 35 is khamsa w tlatin. One detail: in these compounds, 2 becomes tnin, not jouj: 22 is tnin w 3echrin.

Hundreds come first: 150 is mya w khamsin, 250 is mitin w khamsin.

How numbers go with things you buy

You don't need perfect grammar to be understood, but these three patterns will help you recognise what a seller says:

• 2 to 10: number + d + plural with "the": jouj d l-kisan (two glasses), khamsa d d-drahem (five dirhams). You will also hear a shorter form, khms drahem.
• 11 to 19: number + l + singular: tnach l-derhem (twelve dirhams).
• 20 and above: number + singular: 3echrin derhem (twenty dirhams), mya ryal (a hundred riyals).

Asking the price

If you only remember one line, make it b ch7al hada? and point. And if a number sounds strangely high, ask derhem wla ryal?: sellers are used to the question. When the price is open to discussion, here is how to bargain in a Moroccan souk in Darija.

The riyal: why prices sound 20 times too high

The dirham is Morocco's official currency, on every coin and note, and it is divided into 100 centimes. The riyal (ryal) has no coin or note at all, but many Moroccans still count in it, especially:

• at the market, for fruit and vegetables sold by the kilo,
• for second-hand goods, small change and sums under one dirham,
• in everyday talk about bigger sums too, such as rent.

Supermarkets, tourist shops, taxi meters and advertising use dirhams.

The rule is simple: 1 dirham = 20 riyals. To convert riyals to dirhams, divide by 20 (or halve the number and drop a zero).

Not every seller counts in riyals, so don't be surprised if one says ryal and the next says derhem. When in doubt, ask.

Two more words you will hear: nouss (half), as in derhem w nouss (one and a half dirhams), and flous (money).

A short dialogue at the market

You: Salam o3alikom. B ch7al l-kilo d l-limoun? (How much is a kilo of oranges?)

Seller: Mya w sttin. (A hundred and sixty.)

You: Derhem wla ryal?

Seller: Ryal. Tmenya d d-drahem. (Riyals. Eight dirhams.)

You: Wakha. 3tini jouj kilo 3afak. (OK. Give me two kilos, please.)

Seller: Settach l-derhem. (Sixteen dirhams.)

You: 3endek s-serf dyal mitin? (Do you have change for two hundred?)

Seller: Iyeh. (Yes.)

Note: in Darija limoun means orange, not lemon. 160 riyals divided by 20 is indeed 8 dirhams, and two kilos make 16.

Practise

Say these prices out loud in Darija, then convert the riyal ones to dirhams:

1. 15 dirhams
2. 22 dirhams
3. mitin ryal
4. alf ryal

Answers: 1. khmstach l-derhem, 2. tnin w 3echrin derhem, 3. 10 dirhams, 4. 50 dirhams.

Numbers only become automatic when you hear them often. Listen to native speakers in our free Darija audio lessons, and start every purchase with the Darija greetings Moroccans expect. If you want a guided path from zero, learn Moroccan Darija step by step on video: numbers, prices and time are part of the course.