madani مدني
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“madani” (مدني) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning civil, relating to citizens.
Meanings
- civil, relating to citizens
- civilian, non-military
Usage
Madani belongs to a formal or administrative register. It is heard mainly in fixed expressions from standard Arabic: l7ala lmadaniya (civil status), lmojtama3 lmadani (civil society), lkhidma lmadaniya. The feminine is madaniya and the plural madaniyin. In everyday conversation it rarely appears on its own: it is used mostly to talk about administrative procedures, associations or politics. To contrast civilian and military, people often say madani as opposed to 3askari. An English speaker will understand it easily, since its uses largely overlap with those of English "civil".
Example
خاصني نمشي للحالة المدنية نجيب عقد الازدياد
khassni nmchi l l7ala lmadaniya njib 3a9d lizdiyad
“I have to go to the civil registry office to get my birth certificate.”
Forms
| feminine | madania |
|---|---|
| plural | madaniyin |
| feminine plural | madaniat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “madani” but also “madaniya” and “madaniy”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “madani” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “civil (as opposed to military)”; “civic”: madani in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “civil, of civil society”; “civilian, non-military”: madani in Tunisian.