How To Say “Good Luck” In Different Languages

The thing about luck is that… well, sometimes it is there and other times it isn’t. Or so that’s what we think. And, one way or another, we summon this very good force by wishing people around us “good luck” because we want nothing more than the best outcome for everyone.

Perhaps, wishing someone good luck sounds pretty harmless. However, that really isn’t the case for everyone because in some communities and cultures doing this is frowned upon. Yes, wishing someone good luck is believed to be a harbinger of bad luck for some people. Sounds interesting, huh? For example, in the theater community, no one ever says “good luck” because that is bad luck to say. Instead, one would say “break a leg” as a way of saying best of luck to the performers.

Anyway, the origin of that saying is an interesting one and most definitely a story for a different time. Now, if you just want to wish someone a simple good luck in many different ways, here’s a good list to scroll through.

• English: Good luck (gud luk)
• German: Viel Glück (feel gluk)
• French: Bonne chance (bohn shans)
• Spanish: Buena suerte (bweh-nah swer-teh)
• Italian: In bocca al lupo (in bok-ka al lu-poh)
• Korean: [formal] 행운을 빌어요 (haeng un eul bil eo yo), [informal] 행운을 빈다 (haeng un eul bin da)
• Polish: Powodzenia (poh-vod-zen-ya)
• Japanese: 応援しています (ouen shite imasu)
• Norwegian: Lykke til (lee-keh til)
• Swedish: Lycka till (lee-ka til)
• Swahili: Kila la kheri (ki-lah lah khe-ri)
• European Portuguese: Boa sorte (bo-ah sor-teh)
• Brazilian Portuguese: Boa sorte (bo-ah sor-cheeh)
• Turkish: Bol şans (bol shans)
• Mandarin Chinese: 祝你好運 (zhù nǐ háoyùn)
• Dutch: Succes (suk-ses)
• Afrikaans: Sterkte (sterk-teh)
• Vietnamese: Chúc may mắn (chuk mai man)
• Indonesian: Semoga beruntung (seh-moh-gah be-run-tung)
• Basque: Zorte on (sor-teh on)
• Greek: Καλή τύχη (kalí tíhi!)
• Latin: Bonam fortunam (boh-nam for-tu-nam)
• Russian: Удачи (udachi)
• Catalan: Bona sort (boh-nah sort)
• Welsh: Pob lwc (pob look)
• Ukrainian: Щасти вам (ščasti vam)