How to say “not” in Darija
In Moroccan, you say “ma”, “machi” and “mach”; in Algerian, “ma”, “machi” and “mach”; in Tunisian, “ma”, “mech”, “mouch” and “mich”.
In Moroccan Darija
ma ما
A particle meaning “not (negation)”; “that, -ever (after kif, bla…)”; “water (variant of lma)”.
ما شفت والو: “I saw nothing.”
machi ماشي
A particle meaning “not (before noun, adjective)”; “right? isn't it? (sentence-final)”; “going, leaving”.
لا ماشي أنا: “No, it's not me.”
mach ماش
A particle meaning “not, it is not (short form of machi)”; “aren't you? (in a question)”.
ماش خدام غدا: “Aren't you working tomorrow?”
In Algerian Darja
ma ما
A particle meaning “not (negation)”; “what, as much as”.
ما فهمتش واش قلت: “I didn't understand what you said.”
machi ماشي
A particle meaning “not (before noun, adjective)”; “isn't it?”.
هذا ماشي تاعي: “This is not mine.”
mach ماش
A particle meaning “not (before a noun, adjective)”.
هادا ماش ديالي، ديال خويا: “This isn't mine, it's my brother's.”
In Tunisian Derja
ma ما
A particle meaning “not (with -ch)”; “what, as much as (relative)”; “how…! (exclamation)”.
ما فمّة شي هههه: “There is nothing, haha.”
mech مش
A particle meaning “not (before noun, adjective)”; “isn't it? (in questions)”.
جوّ موش نورمال .: “Not a normal atmosphere.”
mouch موش
A particle meaning “not (before adjective, noun)”; “isn't that so? (question)”.
الماكلة موش سخونة: “The food is not hot.”
mich ميش
A particle meaning “not (negates a word or adjective)”; “isn't it? (in a question)”.
الحاجة هاذي ميش غالية: “This thing is not expensive.”