zher زهر
Moroccan Darija · noun
“zher” (زهر) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning luck, good fortune.
Meanings
- luck, good fortune
- fate, favourable destiny
Usage
zher means luck, good fortune. It is a very common, familiar word. The most frequent constructions are 3ndo zher ("he is lucky") and ma3ndouch zher ("he is unlucky"). One also says mzhar or mzhour for a lucky person, and zher khayb for bad luck. It is used in games, exams or work, often with a touch of irony. Note: the same root gives zhar, "orange blossom", and zhar is also used for dice. Context resolves the ambiguity.
Example
خير زهر هادا
5ir zher hada
“That's a real stroke of luck.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zher” but also “zhar”, “zhr” and “zahr”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “zher” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
The same word also exists in Algerian Darja, written الزهر, where it means “luck, good fortune”; “favorable fate (esp. marriage)”: zhar in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “luck, good fortune”; “good fortune”: zhar in Tunisian.