Colors in Moroccan Darija: How to Say Red, Blue, Green and More

Colors are some of the first words you need in Morocco: to pick a fabric in the souk, to describe a taxi, to say which tea glass is yours. Here are the ten colors every learner should know in Moroccan Darija, with the Arabic script, a real sentence for each and a link to its dictionary page, where you can hear the pronunciation for free.

The 10 Colors in Darija

Notice the chat spelling: Moroccans type 7 for the letter ح and 9 for ق, so 7mer is pronounced "hmer" with a deep h, and zer9a ends with a "q" sound. Our Darija dictionary explains these spellings on every word page.

Colors in Real Sentences

Each sentence below is the example from the word's own dictionary page.

• Had t-teffa7a 7emra. — This apple is red. (7mer)
• S-sma zer9a lyoum. — The sky is blue today. (zreq)
• L3shb khder f r-rbi3. — The grass is green in spring. (khder)
• Had l-banana sefra. — This banana is yellow. (sfer)
• Kanbghi qahwa k7la. — I like black coffee. (k7l)
• L7lib byed. — Milk is white. (byed)
• Had lkhizzo limouni. — This carrot is orange. (limuni)
• Shrit trigo mov. — I bought a purple sweater. (mov)
• Had l-mouch rmadi. — This cat is gray. (rmadi)
• Labsa 9amija rose. — She is wearing a pink shirt. (rose)

Masculine and Feminine Forms

Like other adjectives in Darija, colors agree with the noun. You can see it in the sentences above: the apple is feminine, so red becomes 7emra; the sky is feminine, so blue becomes zer9a; coffee takes k7la and the banana sefra. The dictionary form is the masculine one.

Colors borrowed from French, such as mov and rose, usually stay the same whatever the noun.

Colors in Darija – FAQs

How do you say "red" in Moroccan Arabic?

Red is 7mer (حمر), pronounced with a deep "h". For a feminine noun it becomes 7emra.

Are Darija colors the same as in Standard Arabic?

The roots are the same for red, black, white and green, but Darija drops the short vowels: Standard Arabic ahmar becomes 7mer. Some colors are borrowed from French, like mov (mauve) and rose.

Where can I hear the pronunciation?

Every word linked in this article has a free audio button on its dictionary page.

Practice and Next Steps

Browse the whole colors category of the dictionary, then try a sentence of your own in the Moroccan Darija translator to check the agreement.