The five French phrases that do 80% of the work

Bonjour

bohn-ZHOOR

Hello / good day. Works in every shop, taxi and riad in the country. With anyone local, Salam alaikoum first is warmer still.

Merci

mehr-SEE

Thank you. Half of Morocco answers in Darija instead — choukran — and it is worth having in your mouth too.

S'il vous plaît

seel voo PLEH

Please. Tack it onto everything; the French spoken here is polite by default.

Parlez-vous anglais ?

par-lay-voo ahn-GLEH

Do you speak English? Ask it in French, after a greeting. In the medina you will often get yes — plus Spanish, Italian and German.

Excusez-moi

ex-kew-zay-MWAH

Excuse me / sorry. To slip past someone in a narrow souk lane, or to catch a waiter's eye.

First time? Do this

Audio is built in. Tap any phrase to hear it in a native voice — pre-recorded and cached, so it just works offline, no setup. (The voice bar can still pick a phone voice as a backup.)
Phrases — drilled by situation: the riad, souks, directions, the medina. Hit play, then say it back out loud.
Sounds — nine letters unlock almost everything. Ten minutes here pays off the most.
Customs — the unspoken rules. This is where tourists actually give themselves away.
Practice — hear / read / recall / speak. Use it on the plane.

Situational French

Right thing, right moment.

Tap a chip to jump to a scene — or just search. Common holds the go-anywhere basics (hello, thanks, where's the toilet); a few phrases like drinks live under more than one scene.

Common — useful everywhere · greetings · basics · the toilet

Bonjour

bohn-ZHOOR

Hello / good day. Works in every shop, taxi and riad in the country. With anyone local, Salam alaikoum first is warmer still.

Merci

mehr-SEE

Thank you. Half of Morocco answers in Darija instead — choukran — and it is worth having in your mouth too.

S'il vous plaît

seel voo PLEH

Please. Tack it onto everything; the French spoken here is polite by default.

Parlez-vous anglais ?

par-lay-voo ahn-GLEH

Do you speak English? Ask it in French, after a greeting. In the medina you will often get yes — plus Spanish, Italian and German.

Excusez-moi

ex-kew-zay-MWAH

Excuse me / sorry. To slip past someone in a narrow souk lane, or to catch a waiter's eye.

Choukran

shook-RAN

Thank you in Darija. Add bezzef (a lot) and you have thanks very much.

Où sont les toilettes ?

oo sohn lay twah-LET

Where's the toilet / bathroom / restroom? Signed toilettes or WC. Cafés will point you at theirs if you're drinking there — carry tissues, many have none.

Où est... ?

oo EH

Where is...? Drop in anything — Où est la pharmacie ?, Où est le distributeur ? (ATM), Où est la gare ?

Est-ce que vous pouvez m'aider ?

ess-kuh voo poo-VAY meh-DAY

Can you help me?

Combien ça coûte ?

kohn-BYEHN sah KOOT

How much does it cost? In a shop with marked prices this is a question. In the souk it is an opening bid.

Je ne comprends pas

zhuh nuh kohn-prahn PAH

I don't understand.

Doucement, s'il vous plaît

doos-MAHN, seel voo PLEH

Slowly, please. Your best phrase for the moment the answer comes back at full speed.

D'accord

dah-KOR

Okay / agreed.

Greetings & manners · the social handshake

Salam alaikoum

sah-LAHM ah-lay-KOOM

Peace be upon you — the greeting everyone actually uses, whatever language follows. The reply is wa alaikoum salam.

Bonsoir

bohn-SWAHR

Good evening. From late afternoon onwards — which in summer means once the heat breaks.

Comment allez-vous ?

koh-mahn-tah-lay-VOO

How are you? (polite). On the street you will hear the Darija labas ? just as often.

Ça va, merci

sah-VAH mehr-SEE

Fine, thanks — the standard reply. Locals often add hamdullah, thank God.

Enchanté

ahn-shahn-TAY

Pleased to meet you. A woman writes enchantée — it sounds identical.

De rien

duh ree-EHN

You're welcome / it's nothing.

Au revoir

oh ruh-VWAHR

Goodbye. The Darija bslama gets you a smile on the way out.

Bonne journée

bun zhoor-NAY

Have a good day. How you leave a shop or a café — leaving in silence is the rude part, not the arriving.

Inch'Allah

een-shah-LAH

God willing. Attached to any plan, time or promise. Using it yourself is normal and welcome, not mockery.

At the riad & restaurants · ordering & dining

riad ree-AD — a courtyard guesthouse inside the old town

Une table pour deux, s'il vous plaît

ewn TAH-bluh poor DUH, seel voo PLEH

A table for two, please.

La carte, s'il vous plaît

lah KART, seel voo PLEH

The menu, please.

Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez ?

kess-kuh voo ruh-koh-mahn-DAY

What do you recommend? The question that gets you the kitchen's real cooking instead of the laminated tourist menu.

Quel est votre restaurant préféré dans la médina ?

kell eh VOH-truh res-toh-RAHN pray-fay-RAY dahn lah may-DEE-nah

What's your favourite restaurant in the medina? Ask your riad host or a shopkeeper. Everyone has one, and it is never the one on the postcard.

Quel tajine me conseillez-vous ?

kell tah-ZHEEN muh kohn-say-yay-VOO

Which tajine would you advise? Chicken with lemon and olives, kefta with egg, lamb with prunes — let them choose for you.

Est-ce qu'on peut manger sur la terrasse ?

ess-kohn puh mahn-ZHAY sewr lah teh-RASS

Can we eat on the roof terrace? Worth asking everywhere — the best table in Morocco is usually upstairs, over the rooftops.

Bismillah

beese-mee-LAH

"In the name of God" — said before the first bite, where others would say bon appétit. Your host will say it; join in.

Du pain, s'il vous plaît

dew PAHN, seel voo PLEH

Some bread, please. Khobz is the cutlery: you tear it and scoop the tajine with it.

Je suis végétarien

zhuh swee vay-zhay-tah-ree-EHN

I'm vegetarian. (A woman: végétarienne.) Ask for tajine aux légumes — every kitchen in the country makes one.

Sans viande, s'il vous plaît

sahn vee-AHND, seel voo PLEH

Without meat, please.

Je suis allergique aux fruits à coque

zhuh swee ah-lehr-ZHEEK oh frwee ah KOHK

I'm allergic to nuts. Worth knowing here: almonds and argan turn up in pastries, salads and tajines alike.

Une bouteille d'eau, s'il vous plaît

ewn boo-TAY doh, seel voo PLEH

A bottle of water, please. Say plate for still or gazeuse for sparkling.

C'était délicieux

say-tay day-lee-see-UH

That was delicious. Say it to whoever cooked and you may be handed pastries you didn't order.

L'addition, s'il vous plaît

lah-dee-see-OHN, seel voo PLEH

The bill, please. Nobody will bring it until you ask — the table is yours as long as you want it.

Un thé à la menthe, s'il vous plaît

uhn TAY ah lah MAHNT, seel voo PLEH

A mint tea, please. The national drink, poured from a height to put a head of froth on it.

Encore un thé, s'il vous plaît

ahn-KOR uhn TAY, seel voo PLEH

Another tea, please.

Le code wifi, s'il vous plaît

luh kohd wee-FEE, seel voo PLEH

The wifi code, please. Every café and riad has one, usually written up behind the till.

Où est un bon restaurant dans la médina ?

oo eh uhn bohn res-toh-RAHN dahn lah may-DEE-nah

Where's a good restaurant in the medina? Asked of a shopkeeper rather than of someone who approached you, this gets you a doorway you'd never have found.

Vous acceptez la carte ?

voo zahk-sep-TAY lah KART

Do you take cards? Usually no. Taxis, souks and small cafés run on cash — keep 20s and coins on you.

Cafés & mint tea · tea, coffee & long sits

Peu de sucre, s'il vous plaît

puh duh SEW-kruh, seel voo PLEH

Not much sugar, please. The default is very sweet — say this before it is brewed, not after.

Un nous-nous, s'il vous plaît

uhn noo-NOO, seel voo PLEH

A "half-half", please — half coffee, half hot milk. Order it and you sound like a café regular.

Un café noir

uhn kah-FAY NWAHR

A black coffee. Small, strong, and meant to be sat over for an hour.

Un jus d'orange pressé

uhn zhew doh-RAHNZH preh-SAY

A fresh-squeezed orange juice. Cheap, everywhere, and the whole point of the stalls on Jemaa el-Fna.

Est-ce que cette place est libre ?

ess-kuh set PLASS eh LEE-bruh

Is this seat free? Cafés fill up and tables get shared, especially the front row facing the street.

Vous fermez à quelle heure ?

voo fehr-MAY ah kell UHR

What time do you close?

Est-ce que vous servez de l'alcool ?

ess-kuh voo sehr-VAY duh lahl-KOHL

Do you serve alcohol? Ordinary cafés don't. Ask it quietly at restaurants and hotels, as a question rather than a demand.

Une bière, s'il vous plaît

ewn bee-EHR, seel voo PLEH

A beer, please. In licensed places only — Casablanca and Flag Spéciale are the local labels.

À la vôtre !

ah lah VOH-truh

Cheers! ("To yours.") Drinking here is an indoors, low-key affair — toast at the table, never in the street.

In the souk · prices & bargaining

souk sook — the covered market streets — everything is negotiable

C'est trop cher

say troh SHEHR

That's too expensive. The opening move, said with a smile rather than a scowl. Nobody is offended; this is the conversation.

Vous pouvez me faire un prix ?

voo poo-VAY muh fehr uhn PREE

Can you do me a price? The polite invitation to start bargaining properly.

Quel est votre meilleur prix ?

kell eh VOH-truh may-YUHR PREE

What's your best price?

Je vous en donne cent dirhams

zhuh voo zahn dun sahn deer-AHM

I'll give you 100 dirhams for it. Counter low — about a third of the first number is a normal place to open.

Je regarde seulement

zhuh ruh-GARD suhl-MAHN

I'm just looking. Friendly, then keep walking. Asking the price of something you won't buy is what starts the long haggle.

Je réfléchis, merci

zhuh ray-flay-SHEE, mehr-SEE

I'm thinking about it, thanks. The graceful walk-away — and often the exact moment the price drops.

Je prends celui-là

zhuh prahn suh-lwee-LAH

I'll take that one. (For a feminine noun: celle-là.)

Est-ce que c'est fait à la main ?

ess-kuh say feh ah lah MAHN

Is it handmade? Ask it about rugs, lamps and leather, then watch how readily the answer comes.

C'est du vrai cuir ?

say dew vray KWEER

Is it real leather? Useful in Fès, where the tanneries are the spectacle and the bags are the business.

Vous avez plus grand ?

voo zah-VAY plew GRAHN

Do you have a bigger one? (Smaller: plus petit.)

Non merci, une autre fois

nohn mehr-SEE, ewn OH-truh FWAH

No thanks, another time. Warm, firm, final — it ends a hard sell without anyone losing face.

Où est le souk ?

oo eh luh SOOK

Where's the souk? Once you're inside, ask again for the part you want: le souk des épices, le souk des tapis.

Non merci, je n'ai pas besoin de guide

nohn mehr-SEE, zhuh nay pah buh-ZWAHN duh GEED

No thanks, I don't need a guide. For the men who attach themselves at medina gates. Official guides carry a badge — keep walking, stay friendly, repeat once.

Finding your way · asking directions

Où est la sortie de la médina ?

oo eh lah sor-TEE duh lah may-DEE-nah

Where's the way out of the medina? In Fès this question will save your evening. Ask for a gate — Bab this or that — not a street name.

Comment aller à... ?

koh-mahn tah-LAY ah

How do I get to...?

C'est loin ?

say LWAHN

Is it far? Fair warning: "cinq minutes" is a unit of encouragement, not of time.

À gauche

ah GOHSH

Left.

À droite

ah DRWAHT

Right.

Tout droit

too DRWAH

Straight ahead. Mind the pair: à droite is right, tout droit is straight on.

Est-ce que vous pouvez me montrer sur la carte ?

ess-kuh voo poo-VAY muh mohn-TRAY sewr lah KART

Can you show me on the map? Saves you when the directions arrive as a burst of French and hand gestures.

Je suis perdu

zhuh swee pehr-DEW

I'm lost. (A woman writes perdue; it sounds the same.) Shopkeepers standing in their own doorway are the safest people to ask.

Petits taxis & getting around · rides & fares

Je voudrais un taxi

zhuh voo-DREH uhn tah-KSEE

I'd like a taxi. Petits taxis — small, colour-coded by city — work inside town; grands taxis do the longer runs between towns.

Est-ce que vous pouvez appeler un taxi ?

ess-kuh voo poo-VAY ah-play uhn tah-KSEE

Can you call a taxi? Ask at your riad — they have a driver they trust and a price already agreed.

Le compteur, s'il vous plaît

luh kohn-TUHR, seel voo PLEH

The meter, please. Petits taxis are metered by law. Saying this before you sit down settles the fare question politely.

Combien pour aller à... ?

kohn-BYEHN poor ah-LAY ah

How much to go to...? When there's no meter — grands taxis, airport runs, out of town — agree the number before you get in.

À l'aéroport, s'il vous plaît

ah lah-ay-roh-POR, seel voo PLEH

To the airport, please. Airport fares run higher than town rates; ask the price first.

À cette adresse, s'il vous plaît

ah set ah-DRESS, seel voo PLEH

To this address, please. Show your phone, and name the nearest gate or square too — medina addresses are riddles.

Arrêtez-vous ici, s'il vous plaît

ah-reh-tay-VOO ee-SEE, seel voo PLEH

Stop here, please.

Gardez la monnaie

gar-DAY lah moh-NEH

Keep the change. The normal way to tip a driver — a few dirhams, not a percentage.

J'ai le mal des transports

zhay luh mahl day trahns-POR

I get motion sick. The road over the Tizi n'Tichka pass is nothing but switchbacks — say this and claim the front seat.

Desert & Atlas trips · camels, camps & mountain roads

On part à quelle heure ?

ohn par ah kell UHR

What time do we leave? Desert and mountain runs start early to beat the heat, and "early" is negotiable right up until it isn't.

On rentre à quelle heure ?

ohn RAHN-truh ah kell UHR

What time do we get back?

Est-ce qu'on dort dans le désert ?

ess-kohn dor dahn luh day-ZEHR

Are we sleeping in the desert? Ask what the camp includes. The Sahara gets genuinely cold after dark and blankets vary.

Est-ce que je peux monter sur le chameau ?

ess-kuh zhuh puh mohn-TAY sewr luh shah-MOH

Can I ride the camel? It is a dromedary, and nobody will correct you.

Est-ce qu'on marche beaucoup ?

ess-kohn marsh boh-KOO

Do we walk a lot? Worth asking before an Atlas day — the gorges and passes are steeper than the brochure suggests.

C'est magnifique !

say mah-nyee-FEEK

It's magnificent! For the dunes at sunrise. Mean it out loud and you tend to get shown more.

Merci pour la journée

mehr-SEE poor lah zhoor-NAY

Thanks for the day. To your guide or driver at the end, with the tip in your hand as you say it.

Getting by · everyday

Je parle un peu français

zhuh parl uhn puh frahn-SEH

I speak a little French. Says "try me, but slowly" — and it buys you enormous patience.

Est-ce que vous avez... ?

ess-kuh voo zah-VAY

Do you have...?

Est-ce qu'il y a un distributeur près d'ici ?

ess-keel yah uhn dees-tree-bew-TUHR preh dee-SEE

Is there an ATM near here? Dirhams are cash-first and the medina has almost no card machines — draw money before you go in.

Sea, sand & scenery · quick vocab

la mer

lah MEHR

The sea. Atlantic down one coast, Mediterranean along the top.

la plage

lah PLAHZH

The beach. Essaouira for wind and kitesurfers, Agadir for straightforward sun.

le port

luh POR

The harbour. Blue boats, gulls, and sardines grilled in front of you.

le désert

luh day-ZEHR

The desert.

les dunes

lay DEWN

The dunes. Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga are the two big sand seas.

la montagne

lah mohn-TAH-nyuh

The mountain. The High Atlas, snow on top, visible from Marrakech on a clear day.

la palmeraie

lah pahl-muh-REH

The palm grove. The green belt around Marrakech and the oasis towns of the south.

Numbers & dirhams · prices & haggling

uhn

deux

duh

trois

TRWAH

quatre

KAH-truh

cinq

sank

six

seess

sept

set

huit

weet

neuf

nuhf

dix

deess

vingt

vahn

20 — the note you want a pocketful of.

cinquante

sank-AHNT

cent

sahn

100 — cent dirhams, the number every souk conversation circles.

Formal default: Use vous with everyone — shopkeepers, drivers, waiters, anyone older — and keep tu for children; being too formal is never held against you here.

Hearing & reading French

Same alphabet, French rules — with an Arabic accent.

Morocco's working travel language is French, so the rules are French: most final consonants are silent, words run together, and the R gargles at the back of the throat. What's different here is what French borrows back — the h and kh in Moroccan words get said properly.

Start here — the five worth practising

Knowing what a letter sounds like isn't the same as being able to make it. These five are where English mouths actually go wrong: what to do, what to stop doing, and a native recording you can slow down and copy.

The r lives in your throat

What your mouth doesThe back of your tongue rises toward the soft palate and the air scrapes gently past — the place you gargle, not the tongue tip. Keep it small and soft: merci is "mehr-SEE" with that light scrape, not a growl.

The mistakeThe English R, tongue bunched in the middle of the mouth — the single loudest tell of an anglophone. Rolling it on the tip is just as foreign.

mercithank you

Au revoirgoodbye — two soft scrapes

u ou

Two different oo's

What your mouth doesou is the easy one, the oo of food: le souk. For u, say "ee" and — keeping your tongue exactly where it is — round your lips into a tight whistle: the u of jus in un jus d'orange.

The mistakeUsing the food-oo for both. French keeps whole pairs of words apart on this one vowel, and the mint-tea order is full of it.

le soukthe market — the plain oo

Un jus d'orange presséa fresh orange juice — the tight u of jus

an en on

Vowels that go through your nose

What your mouth doesSay the vowel and let the air escape through your nose, and never close the n — your tongue stays down. cent dirhams starts "sahn"; the bon of Bonjour is "bohn" with the n dissolved.

The mistakeLanding the n like English "sant". The written n or m is a flag telling you to nasalise the vowel, not a letter to pronounce.

cent dirhamsone hundred dirhams — "sahn deer-AHM"

Bonjourhello — nasal on

-s -t -x -d

The last letter is usually silent

What your mouth doesFinal s, t, d and x almost never sound, and a final e mostly just softens what came before: trois is "trwah", deux is "duh". Say the word, then stop one letter early.

The mistakeSounding them out — "troyss", "ducks". The written ending is grammar for the eye; the spoken word ends on the vowel.

troisthree — "trwah"

deuxtwo — "duh"

The hidden y

What your mouth doesgn is the "ny" of canyon, said in one beat: la montagne is "lah mohn-TAHN-yuh".

The mistakeSaying the g — "mon-TAG-nee" adds a consonant the word lost long ago.

la montagnethe mountains — "mohn-TAHN-yuh"

Every letter that isn't obvious

a soft gargle at the back of the throat — never an English R

e.g. merci — thank you

plain "oo"

e.g. le souk — the market

tight "ew" — say "ee", then push your lips forward

e.g. le cuir — leather

"ay", short and bright

e.g. le thé — the tea

the vowel in "her", with rounded lips

e.g. deux — two

"wah"

e.g. trois — three

an / en / on

nasal — the vowel goes out through your nose and the N is never finished

e.g. cent dirhams — a hundred dirhams

"sh" like SHip

e.g. Marrakech — Marrakech

"ny" like caNYon

e.g. la montagne — the mountain

A few rules that explain the rest

Final consonants stay silent. You write them, you don't say them: le tapis is "tah-PEE", le prix is "PREE". The usual survivors are c, r, f and l.
Words link into one ribbon. A silent final consonant wakes up before a vowel — vous avez = "voo-za-VAY", les épices = "lay-zay-PEESS". That linking is why spoken French leaves you no gaps to grab onto.
Every syllable gets an even beat. The last one leans a little and that is the whole of stress — never front-load a word the English way. thé à la menthe settles gently onto menthe.
A nasal vowel is not an N. In cent, un pain and bon the n is a direction, not a sound: send the vowel through your nose and stop before your tongue lands.
Moroccan French keeps its Arabic sounds. France drops the h in l'hôtel, but here hammam and Hassan get a real breathy h, and the kh of khobz (bread) is a scrape at the back of the throat.

Don't-be-that-tourist

The rules nobody prints on the menu.

Your French rarely outs you. These do. Read once, and you'll move differently.

Lead with Salam, then French

Salam alaikoum (sah-LAHM ah-lay-KOOM) before your bonjour (bohn-ZHOOR) changes the temperature of every encounter. What comes back is wa alaikoum salam (wah ah-lay-KOOM sah-LAHM) — and then business can start.

Take the tea

Mint tea is how a conversation opens, in a shop as much as a home, poured from a height into small glasses. Accepting it does not commit you to buying anything — refusing flat is the only wrong move.

Know

Haggling is the price system, not a fight

In the souk the first number is an invitation. Counter at roughly a third, expect to land between a third and a half, and keep it light. Never ask the price of something you don't intend to buy.

Right hand, shared plate, bread as your fork

A tajine or couscous lands in the middle and you eat the wedge in front of you, scooping with khobz (khobz). Use your right hand — the left is kept for other business.

Know

Tip small, tip often

A few dirhams is the unit: round up in cafés, about 10% in restaurants, coins for the gardien (gar-DYEHN) who watched your parked car, for porters, and for anyone whose photo you took on Jemaa el-Fna.

Know

"Inch'Allah" is the tempo

Times and plans are held loosely — Inch'Allah (een-shah-LAH, "God willing") attached to an hour means probably. Chwiya b chwiya (SHWEE-yah buh SHWEE-yah), little by little, is the pace of everything here, your bargaining included.

Avoid

Don't photograph people without asking

Ask first, especially with women and in villages. The water-sellers, musicians and snake handlers on Jemaa el-Fna are working performers and will expect paying for the shot.

Avoid

Don't eat, drink or smoke in the street during Ramadan

In daylight hours it reads badly, even though hotels and tourist restaurants keep serving. Sunset is the reward: iftar (if-TAR) tables open everywhere, and an invitation to one is worth rearranging your evening for.

Know

Alcohol is licensed, not everywhere

Cafés serve tea and coffee, full stop — beer and wine live in licensed restaurants, hotel bars and the big supermarkets. Morocco makes decent wine around Meknès; drink it indoors, never on the street.

Avoid

Don't walk into a mosque

Working mosques here are closed to non-Muslims; the Hassan II in Casablanca is the famous exception and runs guided tours. In the medina generally, cover shoulders and knees — it's a lived-in neighbourhood, not a resort.

Food & drink to try

The plates and glasses worth going out of your way for — each with the name as you'd say it out loud.

Tanjia tahn-ZHEE-ah

beef and preserved lemon sealed in a clay urn, slow-cooked overnight in bathhouse embers

Pastilla pas-TEE-yah

shredded pigeon or chicken and almonds in thin pastry, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar

Couscous du vendredi koos-KOOS dew vahn-druh-DEE

steamed semolina under seven vegetables and lamb, served in one wide dish at Friday lunch

Harira hah-REE-rah

tomato, lentil and chickpea soup thickened with flour, served with dates and honey pastries

B'ssara buh-SAH-rah

thick split-pea purée poured hot for breakfast, pooled with olive oil, cumin and paprika

Msemen muh-SEH-men

square of buttery dough folded and griddled flaky, eaten hot with honey or apricot jam

Rfissa ruh-FEE-sah

chicken and lentils in fenugreek broth ladled over torn flatbread

Mechoui meh-SHWEE

whole lamb roasted in a pit oven, pulled off the bone and dipped in cumin and salt

Atay b'naanaa ah-TAY buh-nah-NAH

green tea packed with mint and sugar, poured from a height into small glasses

Nous-nous nooss-NOOSS

half espresso and half hot milk, served in a small glass rather than a cup

Jus d'avocat zhoo dah-voh-KAH

avocado blended with milk, sugar and almonds, thick enough to need a spoon

Leben LEH-ben

cold soured buttermilk, drunk plain to cut a heavy couscous

Make it stick

Test the four channels.

Understanding French by ear, reading, recall, and your own mouth. Quick rounds — do them twice.