Greetings
السلام / Salam
sa-LAM
Hello. Rabat's register is noticeably more formal than Casablanca's — the full 'as-salamu alaykum' is common with officials and older people.
Culture
الرباط / Rbat
r-BAT
The city's name in Darija, from Ribat al-Fath — 'the fortress of victory'. Salé, across the river, is Sla.
Work
الوزارة / El wizara
el wi-ZA-ra
The ministry. In Rabat this is a normal part of a conversation about your week, in a way it is nowhere else in Morocco.
Daily life
التصديق / Tasdiq — légalisation
tas-DEEQ
Official certification of a copy or signature, done at the moqata'a or commune. Morocco runs on it and plain photocopies are refused.
الأبوستيل / Apostille
a-pos-TEE-y
Since August 2016 Morocco is in the Hague Apostille Convention, so a document apostilled in another member state needs no consular legalisation here.
شهادة السكنى / Attestation de résidence
at-tes-ta-SYON duh ray-zee-DONCE
Proof from the local authority that you live where you claim. It blocks more residence-card files than anything else.
الطرامواي / Tramway
tram-WAY
The Rabat-Salé tram, two lines across the Bouregreg. It is genuinely good, and it decides where it is sensible to live.
شحال / Sh-hal
sh-HAL
'How much?' Rabat is far less of a negotiating city than Marrakech — most prices here are simply the price.
Social
بصح / Bsseh
b-SEH
'Go on then' or 'fair enough' — the mild Rabati agreement that keeps a conversation moving without committing to anything.
الله يخليك / Allah ykhellik
AL-lah y-khel-LEEK
'May God preserve you' — the warm, slightly pleading 'please' used to ask a favour of an official or a neighbour. It works.
Emergency
19 / 15 / 150
—
19 for police in the city, 15 for an ambulance, 150 for the protection civile. 177 is the Gendarmerie Royale for the roads out of town.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.