Nazar: The Culture of the Evil Eye and How to Ward It Off

Anyone who visits Turkey notices the blue glass “eye” beads on doors, in cars, on keyrings and pinned to babies' clothes. They are linked to nazar, the evil eye, and to a set of everyday phrases you'll hear far more often than you might expect. You don't need to share the belief to understand it, and knowing the phrases will help you follow conversations and respond politely.

What is nazar?

Nazar originally means “look” or “gaze”. The traditional belief, found in many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures, is that an admiring or envious look can cause harm: illness, a broken object, a run of bad luck. People relate to it in very different ways. Some believe in it sincerely, many treat it as tradition, and many simply use the phrases out of habit, much as English speakers say “touch wood”.

The key verb is değmek, “to touch”: Nazar değdi means “the evil eye struck”, and Ona nazar değdi means “he/she has been hit by the evil eye”. You will also hear göz değdi with the same meaning.

The nazar boncuğu

Nazar boncuğu means “evil eye bead” (boncuk = bead; in the compound, k softens to ğ: boncuğu). The blue-and-white glass eye is meant to catch or deflect harmful looks. Some people say that if a bead cracks, it has “taken” a nazar meant for its owner. The more general word for any protective charm is nazarlık. A bead is a common small gift for a newborn or for a new home or shop.

Phrases that “protect”

• Maşallah: “what God has willed”. Said with a compliment so that it carries admiration, not envy.
• Nazar değmesin: “may the evil eye not touch (it)”. Said after praising someone's child, health, home or success.
• Allah korusun: “God protect (them)”. Said after praise, or when mentioning a possible misfortune.
• Şeytan kulağına kurşun: “lead in the devil's ear”. Said after mentioning that things are going well, so that the devil doesn't “hear” and spoil it.
• Tahtaya vurmak: “to knock on wood”. People say Tahtaya vur! and tap a wooden surface. Some combine it with tugging an earlobe (kulak çekmek), or with a soft “tu tu tu” sound, a symbolic spit.

Grammar point: nazar değmesin

Değ-me-sin is made of değ- (touch), the negative -me, and the third-person optative -sin: “let it not touch”. It is the negative of the same ending you see in kolay gelsin, afiyet olsun and geçmiş olsun. Compare gelsin (may it come) and gelmesin (may it not come).

Kurşun dökmek: pouring lead

A traditional folk ritual against nazar is kurşun dökmek, “to pour lead”. Molten lead is poured into cold water held above the person's head, and the shapes it forms are interpreted. The causative form kurşun döktürmek means “to have lead poured”, i.e. to go to someone who performs it. It is a folk custom, practiced by some families and regarded skeptically by others.

Example sentences

• Maşallah, ne güzel bir bebek! Nazar değmesin. (What a beautiful baby! May no evil eye touch him/her.)
• Arabam bir haftada iki kez bozuldu; herhalde nazar değdi. (My car broke down twice in one week; it must be the evil eye.)
• Annem kapıya bir nazar boncuğu astı. (My mother hung an evil eye bead on the door.)
• Bu kış hiç hastalanmadık, şeytan kulağına kurşun. (We haven't been ill at all this winter, touch wood.)
• Sınavlar iyi geçiyor, tahtaya vur! (The exams are going well, knock on wood!)

Common learner mistakes

• Lavishing praise on a baby with no softener. Nobody will be offended, but adding maşallah sounds much warmer.
• Mixing up “nazar değdi” and “nazar değmesin”. The first says it happened; the second wishes it won't.
• Treating it as purely superstition talk. Many of these phrases simply mean “I'm happy for you” or “fingers crossed”.

What you'll notice in dizi

In many series, a grandmother pins a bead to a baby's blanket, an older relative mutters nazar değdi when someone falls ill after good news, or a character knocks on a wooden table after boasting. Traditional or rural settings sometimes show kurşun döktürme. These moments rely on the audience knowing the phrases, and now you do too.