l7adh الحظ
Algerian Darja · noun
“l7adh” (الحظ) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning luck, good fortune.
Meanings
- luck, good fortune
- share, lot received
Usage
L7adh means "luck". The word is understood and used everywhere, but it belongs more to a formal or written register. It is found mostly in fixed expressions such as "l7osn l7adh" ("luckily") or "sou2 l7adh" ("unfortunately"). In everyday conversation, Algerians more readily say zhar for luck: "3andou zhar", "he's lucky". An English speaker who wants to sound natural in speech is therefore better off preferring zhar, and keeping l7adh for set phrases or more formal contexts.
Example
لحسن الحظ لحقت الكار
l7osn l7adh l7e9t lkar
“Luckily, I caught the bus.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “l7adh” but also “7ad”, “l7ad”, “hadh” and “elhadh”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.