Explanation

• Greetings in Hassaniya always start with “es salâm `aleikum,” said by the person arriving or entering. They are followed by a series of questions about health and end with a thank you to God.
• Greetings are often long and ritualistic, with responses not necessarily reflecting the actual situation; for example, someone who is ill might still say “la bâs el hamdulillah” (no problem, praise be to Allah).
• Instead of calling out, “Hello, is anyone there?” one would say “es salâm `aleikum” loudly, sometimes repeating it.

• Articles

  • The article in Hassaniya, as in Arabic, is “al” or “el”. It is pronounced differently depending on the initial letter of the noun it precedes.
  • With letters like t, th, j, d, etc. (solar letters), the “l” in the article is not pronounced, and the first letter of the noun is doubled.
  • With lunar letters, the article is pronounced as “el” or sometimes just “l”.

  Personal Pronouns

  • anâ – I
  • enta – You (m)
  • enti – You (f)
  • huwâ – He
  • hiyâ – She
  • ehna – We (m) (in some regions: nahna)
  • ehnâti – We (f)
  • entum – You (m)
  • entumâti – You (f)
  • huma – They (m)
  • humâti – They (f)
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• Vocabulary

  • zayn (m), zayna (f) – Beautiful
  • fi – In / At
  • yassir men – A lot of
  • mushkila – Problem
  • shor – Towards
  • el waqt – Time
  • el waqata – Watch
  • hawn – Here
  • b`id – Far
  • kbîr – Big
  • dâr – House
  • ktâb – Book
  • esem – Name
  • umm – Mother
  • mâhu muhim – Not important
  • muhim – Important
  • kheïma – Tent
  • jmel – Camel
  • nar – Fire
  • el ma – Water
  • ateï – Tea
  • kas – Glass
  • barad – Teapot
  • nana – Mint
  • tamar – Date
  • nojoum – Stars
  • elkamar – Moon
  • sma – Sky
  • chams – Sun
  • mzin – Cloud
  • shab – Rain
  • jebel – Mountain
  • oued – River
  • nkhal – Palm tree