Short answer: to order in Darija, name what you want and add 3afak (please): wa7ed l-9ahwa, 3afak ("a coffee, please"). For a fuller sentence, start with bghit… ("I'd like…") or 3tini… ("give me…", perfectly polite in Morocco). When you have finished, ask for l-7sab, 3afak ("the bill, please").
With about twenty words you can handle a Moroccan café, a breakfast stall and a restaurant. Below: the three sentence patterns, the café and restaurant vocabulary, the questions you will ask, three short dialogues and a quick practice.
Three patterns that cover almost every order
| Pattern | Darija | English |
|---|---|---|
| Item + please | wa7ed atay, 3afak | A tea, please |
| I'd like… | bghit wa7ed l-9ahwa b l-7lib | I'd like a coffee with milk |
| Give me… | 3tini wa7ed l-ma, 3afak | Give me a water, please |
Two small details make these sound natural:
- wa7ed means "one", but Moroccans use it like "a": wa7ed l-9ahwa is simply "a coffee". The noun keeps its article l-.
- 3afak can go at the start or the end: 3afak, wa7ed atay works just as well. If 3afak is new to you, see our guide to please, thank you, yes and no in Darija.
For two of something, use jouj d: jouj d l-kisan d atay ("two glasses of tea"). Numbers above two, and how prices are said, are in our article on numbers and prices in Darija.
At the café
Moroccan cafés serve coffee, tea, juice and often a simple breakfast. Many menus are written in French, but the order itself is easy in Darija.
| English | Darija | Arabic script |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee | l-9ahwa | القهوة |
| Black coffee | 9ahwa ka7la | قهوة كحلة |
| Coffee with milk | 9ahwa b l-7lib | قهوة بالحليب |
| Half coffee, half milk | nss-nss | نص نص |
| Milk | l-7lib | الحليب |
| Mint tea | atay b n3na3 | أتاي بالنعناع |
| Sugar / without sugar | s-sokkar / bla sokkar | السكر / بلا سكر |
| Water | l-ma | الما |
| A bottle of water | 9er3a d l-ma | قرعة ديال الما |
| Orange juice | 3asir d l-limoun | عصير ديال الليمون |
Nss-nss ("half-half") is the classic Moroccan café order: a small coffee topped up with about the same amount of milk, usually served in a glass. Careful with limoun: in Moroccan Darija it usually means orange, not lemon. A lemon is l-7amed. Tea has its own vocabulary and etiquette, explained in our guide to Moroccan mint tea.
Breakfast words
| English | Darija | Arabic script |
|---|---|---|
| Bread | l-khobz | الخبز |
| Square flaky flatbread | msemmen | مسمن |
| Spongy semolina pancake | beghrir | بغرير |
| Olive oil | zit l-3oud | زيت العود |
| Honey | l-3sel | العسل |
| Butter | z-zebda | الزبدة |
| Eggs | l-bid | البيض |
A typical order: wa7ed l-msemmen b l-3sel, 3afak ("a msemmen with honey, please").
At the restaurant
| English | Darija | Arabic script |
|---|---|---|
| Food | l-makla | الماكلة |
| Meat | l-l7em | اللحم |
| Chicken | d-djaj | الدجاج |
| Fish | l-7out | الحوت |
| Spiced minced meat | l-kefta | الكفتة |
| Brochettes (skewers) | l-9otban | القطبان |
| Salad | chlada | شلاضة |
| Vegetables | l-khodra | الخضرة |
| Tajine with chicken | tajine d d-djaj | طاجين ديال الدجاج |
| Tajine with kefta | tajine d l-kefta | طاجين ديال الكفتة |
| Soup (the classic one) | l-7rira | الحريرة |
D (short for dyal) means "of": tajine d d-djaj is literally "tajine of chicken". The same little word builds almost every dish name, so once you know the ingredient you can order the dish.
Questions you will need
| English | Darija |
|---|---|
| Is there a free table? | wach kayna chi blassa? |
| What do you have? | chnou kayn? |
| Is it spicy? | wach 7arr? |
| I don't eat meat | ma-kan-akul-ch l-l7em |
| Without meat, please | bla l-l7em, 3afak |
| A little more bread, please | chwiya d l-khobz, 3afak |
| Excuse me! (to call the waiter) | sme7 li! |
| The bill, please | l-7sab, 3afak |
| How much is it? | b ch7al? |
Blassa ("place, seat") comes from Spanish plaza, one of many European loanwords in everyday Darija.
What you will hear
- Bse77tek / bse77tkom: "enjoy your meal" (to one person / to several). Answer llah y3tik s-se77a.
- Chnou bghiti?: "What would you like?"
- Chi 7aja khra?: "Anything else?" Answer safi, chokran ("that's all, thanks").
- Mrehba!: "Welcome!", often what the owner says when you walk in.
Three short dialogues
Morning coffee
Waiter: Salam. Chnou bghiti? (Hello. What would you like?)
You: Wa7ed nss-nss, 3afak. O wa7ed l-msemmen b l-3sel. (A nss-nss, please. And a msemmen with honey.)
Waiter: Wakha. Chi 7aja khra? (OK. Anything else?)
You: Wa7ed l-ma, 3afak. (A water, please.)
Lunch in a small restaurant
You: Salam o3alikom. Wach kayna chi blassa? (Hello. Is there a free table?)
Waiter: Iyeh, mrehba. Gles hna. (Yes, welcome. Sit here.)
You: Chnou kayn? (What do you have?)
Waiter: Kayn tajine d d-djaj, tajine d l-kefta o l-9otban. (There's chicken tajine, kefta tajine and brochettes.)
You: Wach tajine d l-kefta 7arr? (Is the kefta tajine spicy?)
Waiter: Chwiya. (A little.)
You: Wakha, 3tini tajine d d-djaj o chlada, 3afak. (OK, give me the chicken tajine and a salad, please.)
Waiter: Bse77tek. (Enjoy.)
You: Llah y3tik s-se77a. (Thank you.)
Paying
You: Sme7 li! L-7sab, 3afak. (Excuse me! The bill, please.)
Waiter: Wakha. (OK.)
You: B ch7al? (How much?)
Waiter: Khamsin derhem. (Fifty dirhams.)
You: Tfeddel. L-makla bnina bezzaf, chokran! (Here you are. The food was really delicious, thanks!)
Quick practice
Say each answer out loud before you check it.
- Order a black coffee politely.
- Ask whether a dish is spicy.
- Tell the waiter you don't eat meat.
- Ask for the bill.
- The waiter says bse77tek. What do you answer?
Answers: 1. wa7ed l-9ahwa ka7la, 3afak. 2. wach 7arr? 3. ma-kan-akul-ch l-l7em. 4. l-7sab, 3afak. 5. llah y3tik s-se77a.
Your next step
Ordering is one of the first real conversations you will have in Morocco, and one of the easiest to win. To hear how 9ahwa, l-7sab and bse77tek really sound, listen to our free Darija audio lessons. If you want all the food, café and market vocabulary in one place, with dialogues and exercises, our Moroccan Darija textbooks are a structured way to learn it.