Moroccan Darija for “why”
/3lach/
علاش
3lach ma jitich lbare7?
Why didn't you come yesterday?
Latin Darija has several accepted writing styles. You may see this word written as:
These spellings refer to the same word. In chat writing, 3, 7, and 9 commonly represent ع, ح, and ق. Vowels and sh/ch can also vary. You can search using any spelling listed here.
Say 3lach (علاش) for “why” in Moroccan Darija. The pronunciation guide is /3lach/. It is a adverb. In a natural conversation, you can say “3lach ma jitich lbare7?”, meaning “Why didn't you come yesterday?” The French equivalent is pourquoi.
3lach kat9ra Darija?
علاش كتقرا الدارجة؟
Why are you learning Darija? · Pourquoi tu apprends la darija ?
Ma 3reftch 3lach.
ما عرفتش علاش.
I don't know why. · Je ne sais pas pourquoi.
3lach hadchi ghali bezzaf?
علاش هادشي غالي بزاف؟
Why is this so expensive? · Pourquoi c'est si cher ?
Built from '3la' (on) + 'ach' (what): literally 'on what'. The answer usually starts with '7it' (because).
| English | why |
|---|---|
| French | pourquoi |
| Spanish | por qué |
| Italian | perché |
| German | warum |
| Portuguese | por que |
| Dutch | waarom |
| Turkish | neden |
3lach (علاش) is a Moroccan Darija word or expression meaning "why" in English and "pourquoi" in French. It is a beginner-level word in the grammar category.
A natural example is “3lach ma jitich lbare7?” It means “Why didn't you come yesterday?”
3lach is pronounced /3lach/. You can listen to the audio pronunciation by clicking the "Listen" button above.
In Arabic script it is written علاش (with vowel marks: عْلاش).
Built from '3la' (on) + 'ach' (what): literally 'on what'. The answer usually starts with '7it' (because).