On this page, we are going to show you all the things you want to know about the basic phrase "Bonne chance". More precisely, this includes a full guide of what it is and how you can use it in a normal conversation with an audio example. And because we want to help you on your learning journey, we also added some useful stuff like synonym, slow pronunciation audio, dialogue example and more!
Translation : Good luck
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IPA : / bɔn ʃɑ̃s /
This is the best way to say "Good luck" in French, but people confuse it often with "Bon courage" which means "Hang in there/Be strong".
"Bonne chance" expresses the wish of good fortune for someone who is trying to achieve something that relies on luck or external factors.
In case you want to encourage someone on a task that doesn't rely on luck but on hard work/dedication, use instead: "Bon courage !" (Hang in there!)
Also, "Chance" is a feminine word, so it is never correct to say "Bon chance" as we see quite often.
Example: A friend of yours recently made an investment and hopes to earn a lot of money from it. Wish him: "Bonne chance" because how much money he will earn doesn't depend on him anymore, but mostly on luck.
Your friend finally changed his mind. He now plans to build a house and sell it to make profit. This time you wish him "Bon courage" because the success of his plan depends on hard work and courage!
French people have another way to say "Good luck" and it's... "Merde".
And yes, it means "Shit". Where is this coming from?
During the 19th century, very rich people were using horse-drawn carriages to go to the theater. All these horses waiting outside were "relieving themselves" a.k.a. pooping on the street. And people were walking on it and then soiling the theater's carpet.
So, the more exceptional artists are, the more famous the play became, the more rich people came, the more shit on the floor.
Then, with time, a floor full of crap became a sign of success and of good luck.
In case you are afraid that people might think you are swearing, you can say: "Je te dis merde !" which literally means "I am telling/wishing you shit!". Then people will 100% understand that you are wishing them "Good luck".
↓ Example in a story with translation ↓
Finally, let's see an example in a parallel story with slow audio.
Le billet de loterie
The lottery ticket
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