shour السحور
Algerian Darja · noun
“shour” (السحور) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning meal eaten before dawn (Ramadan).
Meanings
- meal eaten before dawn (Ramadan)
- time of that meal
Usage
Es-shour is the meal eaten at night during Ramadan, before the dawn call to prayer that marks the start of the fast. It is the opposite of "lftour", the meal that breaks the fast at sunset. One says "nnoudou l'shour" (we get up for the shour) or "f shour" (at shour time). People often eat milk, dates or "mesfouf". The word refers both to the meal and to the time. Be careful not to confuse it with "s7our", plural of "s7er" (sorcery), whose pronunciation is close.
Example
نوضونا للسحور قبل الفجر بساعة.
nawdouna l'shour 9bel lfajr b sa3a.
“They woke us up for the shour an hour before dawn.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “shour” but also “s7our”, “sohour”, “es-shour” and “sahour”. 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.