Amusing Moroccan Idioms

Part 2

Edited by the Author

After writing Amusing Moroccan Idioms, I realized that I didn’t even scratch the top of the surface when it comes to our idioms and expressions.

That’s why I decided to write a part 2, and who knows, perhaps there will be a part 3 and 4…

Moroccan dialect is complicated because it gathers 3 languages that are still used up to date: Arabic which is the foundation of the dialect, filled with Berber and French vocabulary. That’s why so many Arabic speakers find the Moroccan dialect hard to understand. Besides, we’re all the time using these idioms, which makes things even much harder.

Moroccan idioms are not easy to explain. However, the culture beneath helps a lot to make sense of them.

So let’s dive in!

1- اللي باغي يقرا، العام طويل The year is long for those who want to study.

It means who wants to succeed in something, that takes time and needs preparation. But this idiom is often used in a sarcastic way to describe someone lazy.
It implies that this person is not committed to what they want to accomplish.

2- لا زين، لا مجي بكري No beauty, nor coming early