Arabs are as superstitious as humans can be. We try to do our best not to leave a shoe flipped upside down ... and we try our best to keep something blue in sight to keep the hasad at bay.
One of the most difficult things is probably giving a compliment without sounding like you're trying to bring evil spirits into a person's life.
1. Always start your sentence with mashallah
Learning to integrate mashallah into all your compliments is a habit that takes some time to get used to. But, trust me, it's worth it. Not including this word will most definitely get you on the "haters" list, because God forbid you're only complimenting someone in hopes of something bad happening to them.
2. Make sure to end it in smallah
Even if you started off your sentence with a word that keeps those evil eyes at bay, you have to also end your sentence with something that kills off any evil eyes that are just too persistent.
3. Followed by a "knock on wood"
Who knew knocking on wood could emit an aura of good luck? It does.
4. Sneak yekhze el ein in at some point in time
But, really let's face it, nothing can keep the evil eye away other than this straight-to-the-point-keep-the-evil-eye-away phrase that just has to be said when praising someone. It just has to.
5. Allah yehmeek/yehmeeki is always a good addition
No need for explanation. Just do it. Inshallah.
6. A comment on someone's weight (even weight loss) is not a compliment
This is the first thing Arabs comment on when going weeks without seeing someone. We're all kinda guilty of this in our own way. But, contrary to popular belief, commenting on someone's weight – whether loss or gain – is actually not a compliment.