If you are a learner of MSA, you’ll think there is a mistake in the title. You probably thought this is some variant of the root zahr زهر flowers, from the same root of: Zahra زهرة, azhâr أزهار, zohôr زهور. But no, you’re the one mistaken in this case.
Zzhr الزهر in Moroccan Darija means luck. “Mâ 3ndî zhr” ما عندي زهر (I am not lucky) is a sentence you’d hear among pessimist Moroccans. Actually, it’s a kind of buzz sentence, coming from the famous song of Najat 3tabo:
آها أيلي
آها أيلي
مالي أنا
مالي أنا و ما عندي زهر
“Aha ayli
Aha ayli
Mâlî anâ
Malî anâ w mâ 3ndî zhr”
Translated as:
“Oh oh!
Oh oh!
What’s wrong with me?
What’s wrong with me being so unlucky”
Try singing the translated refrain keeping the original tone, it’s fun!
Luck in MSA is 7aDH حظ, and a lucky person is ma7DHôDh محظوظ. In Darija, there is no equivalent for the adjective lucky, you just say: “3ndî zzhr” عندي الزهر (I’ve got THE luck, I am lucky) or “mâ 3ndî zhr” ما عندي زهر (I’ve got NO luck, I am unlucky).
Let’s keep away for the mâ-3ndî-zhr kinda mood, and get into a more optimist mood. I discovered, not long ago, a lovely song… but in German mind you! I speak a little bit German to understand what the whole thing is about. And YOU manage your way to get a translation.
What I loved most about this song is the oriental tones you can sense in it, just marvellous.
The song is “Glück für dich” – (I wish) luck for you, by Muhabbet. Muhabbet is of Turkish origins, living in
Lyrics of “Glück für dich” – Muhabbet
Enjoy!
