zhar زهر
Tunisian Derja · noun
“zhar” (زهر) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning luck, good fortune.
Meanings
- luck, good fortune
- good fortune
Usage
Zhar means luck, in the colloquial sense of "good fortune". It is built with 3and: 3andi zhar ("I'm lucky"), ma 3andouch zhar ("he has no luck"). The exclamation malla zhar! means "what luck!". To wish someone good luck, other phrases are preferred. Beware: the same word written zahr can also evoke the flower, especially in ma zhar ("orange blossom water"). In the sense of luck, the usual pronunciation is zhar, with the first vowel reduced. The register is colloquial and very common.
Example
ملّا زهر عندي
Malla zahr 3andi
“How lucky I am!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zhar” but also “zahr”, “zhaar” and “zher”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “zhar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “luck, good fortune”; “fate, favourable destiny”: zher in Moroccan.
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.