Languages
Native
Darija (Moroccan Arabic)
89%
Tamazight (Berber)
26%
Secondary languages
French
33%
Spanish
20%
Language Samples
لاباس؟ كيداير؟
Labas? Ki dayr?
Are you well? How are you doing? (Darija)
لاباس، الحمد لله.
Labas, alhamdulillah.
Fine, praise be to God.
واحد، جوج، تلاتة، ربعة، خمسة، ستة، سبعة، تمنية، تسعود، عشرة.
Wahd, jouj, tlata, rb'a, khamsa, stta, sb'a, tmnya, ts'oud, 'ashra.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Linguistic History
Morocco's linguistic landscape is one of the most layered in the Arab world. Darija — Moroccan Arabic — evolved from Classical Arabic blended with indigenous Berber (Tamazight) languages, Andalusian Arabic carried by Muslims expelled from Spain, and extensive French and Spanish colonial vocabulary. Tamazight was co-officialised alongside Arabic in 2011 and is written in the ancient Tifinagh script. French remains the primary language of higher education, commerce, and administration, while Spanish is widely spoken in the north near the former Spanish Protectorate.
Similar Languages
Hebrew
58%
Tamazight (Berber)
14%
Amharic
22%
Maltese
30%
Media
The blue-washed streets of Chefchaouen, a city reflecting Morocco's Andalusian Arabic heritage
Photo: William John Gauthier from Denmark ([1]) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Did You Know
01
Darija is so distinct from Modern Standard Arabic that speakers from the Gulf region often cannot understand it — yet it shares the same script and formal register.
02
Morocco's Tifinagh script, used for Tamazight, is one of the world's oldest scripts and was also used by ancient Tuareg people across the Sahara.
03
The city of Fez is home to the University of al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 CE and widely considered the world's oldest continuously operating university.