What numbers do I need in Darija for prices and shopping?

The numbers you actually use most are one to ten, so start here: "wahed" (WA-hed, 1), "jouj" (zhoozh, 2), "tlata" (t-LA-ta, 3), "reb3a" (RB-a, 4), "khamsa" (KHAM-sa, 5), "setta" (SET-ta, 6), "seb3a" (SB-a, 7), "tmnya" (t-MN-ya, 8), "tes3oud" (tes-OOD, 9) and "3ashra" (AASH-ra, 10). Note "jouj" for two is a wonderful Moroccan quirk — classical Arabic uses "ithnayn", but in Darija it is always "jouj" (two coffees: "jouj qahwa"). Even just counting one to ten out loud while shopping earns delighted reactions.

For prices you mostly need the bigger round numbers. "3ashrin" (ash-REEN) is 20, "tlatin" (t-la-TEEN) 30, "khamsin" (kham-SEEN) 50, "miya" (MEE-ya) 100, "miyatayn" (mee-ya-TAYN) 200, and "alf" (ALF) 1000. So a 250-dirham scarf is "miyatayn w khamsin" (200 and 50). You do not need to construct these perfectly — sellers will happily punch numbers into a calculator or hold up fingers. But recognising "miya" and "alf" when you hear them keeps you from overpaying through simple confusion.

Here is the trap that catches almost every visitor: "rial". In many traditional markets, especially with older vendors and in places like Fes, people quote prices in rials, an old unit where 20 rials = 1 dirham. If a man selling olives says "miya" (100) he may mean 100 rials, which is just 5 dirham — a fair price, not a rip-off. When a number sounds shockingly high or oddly low, simply ask "Bedderhem?" (b-ed-DER-hem), "in dirham?". Clearing that up has saved my travellers from both overpaying and accidentally underpaying countless times.

A few practical anchors. The currency is the dirham (locally "derhem"), and as a rough guide one US dollar is around ten dirham, one euro a touch more — so a "100 dirham" tagine lunch is about ten dollars. Carry small notes (20s and 50s) and coins, because vendors rarely have change for a 200-dirham bill on a 30-dirham purchase, and "ma 3andi serf" (ma AN-dee serf), "I have no change", will leave you stuck. Master one-to-ten plus "miya", "alf" and the magic question "Bedderhem?", and the entire marketplace becomes far less mysterious.