Learn Moroccan Arabic (Darija) first lesson.Greetings .

Greetings are quite warm in Morocco, that you’ll find a person you meet for the first time asking you about your health, family, work and so on. When two persons meet, their greetings can be long depending on how close they are to one another. Even when you come across somebody in the street, you manage to ask them quickly about their family.

Here are some costums of greetings in Morocco:

- We often keep shaking hands untill the end of the greeting process.

- Many Moroccans will look towards the ground when greeting ladies and elders.

- Moroccans address women (elders or married ones) by the honorific title Lalla, Lalla+her name, or L7ajja and elder men by sidi, or ssi+his name, moulay or L7ajj.

-We often kiss elders' hands and their heads as well.You'll always hear them saying Allah yerDi 3lik aweldi/abenti or Allah ye3tik rrDa, both expressions are prayers that God will bless you and be pleasant with you..

.

-After shaking hands, touching the right hand to the heart is a sign of respect.This is not  limited to one's elders; it is common to see adults touching their hearts after shaking hands.

 

-A person at a distance will usually make eye contact, smile, wave and touch his hand to his heart.

-Affection for children is shown by patting gently on their shoulders or heads, but huggin or kissing cheeks is more common.

-Male/Female contact is often limited to hand-shaking but it really depends on people's social class and their own habits.

- It's highly recommended to use expressions such as 7amdullah (praise be to Allah/Thanks to God), nshallah (God willing),baraka allahu fik ( God bless you) in a conversation. You'll leave a very good impression.

Posted in: Lessons