“Good luck” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
Good luck
“Good luck” in Chinese is 祝你好运, zhù nǐ hǎoyùn. Word for word it means “wish you good luck”. But in everyday life you will hear another word far more often — 加油, jiāyóu: “come on, you’ve got this!”.
What 祝你好运 is made of
- 祝zhùto wish
- 你nǐyou
- 好运hǎoyùngood luck
祝 opens any wish: first “wish”, then who, then what. 祝你生日快乐 is built the same way — “happy birthday”. 好运 is “good” plus “fortune, luck”. There is no “I” in the phrase, and you don’t need one.
- 明天考试，祝你好运！míngtiānkǎoshì,zhùnǐhǎoyùnthe exam is tomorrow — good luck!
The adjective “lucky” is a different word, : 我很幸运 — “I’m lucky”.
加油 — how it differs from “good luck”
- 加油jiāyóucome on! keep going! you can do it!
加油 literally means “add oil” — “put more fuel in”. Fans shout it in stadiums, friends text it before an exam, people say it to someone who is tired and about to give up. The difference is what you rely on: 好运 is about luck, which doesn’t depend on the person; 加油 is about their own strength — “you can do it, push”. So before a job interview or a race 加油 fits better, while 祝你好运 sounds a little formal, like “I wish you the best of luck” next to “you’ve got this!”.
The word also keeps its literal meaning — “to fill up the car”:
- 车没油了，我们得先去加油。chēméiyóule,wǒmenděixiānqùjiāyóuwe’re out of gas, we need to fill up first
Other wishes in Chinese
- 祝你成功！zhùnǐchénggōngI wish you success!
- 祝你一路顺风！zhùnǐyílùshùnfēnghave a safe trip!
- 祝你旅行顺利！zhùnǐlǚxíngshùnlìhave a good trip!
- 一路平安！yílùpíng’ānsafe travels!
is what you wish before something where the result matters. The two travel wishes literally mean “a following wind all the way” and “peace all the way”. works for anything: a trip, an exam, a move.
How to answer
Simply . If the wish goes both ways — say, you are both taking the exam — answer in kind: 加油！
The character for luck — 福
- 门上贴着一个福字。ménshangtiēzheyígefúzìthere is a 福 character stuck on the door
The character on a red diamond that people hang on their doors for Chinese New Year is 福, fú: “good fortune, happiness”. It is often hung upside down: in Chinese “upside down” (倒, dào) sounds just like “has arrived” (到, dào) — so it reads “good fortune has arrived”. More about this character is in the article “The Chinese symbol for happiness”, other characters are in “Chinese characters”, and New Year greetings are on the page “Happy New Year”.
Common mistakes
In yùn the u after y is really ü: say “ee” with your lips rounded as if for “oo”. It comes out close to “yewn”, not “yoon”. zhù and yùn are fourth tone, the voice drops sharply, like a firm “No!”; hǎo is third, low. The zh in zhù is close to the “j” in “jump”, but with the tongue tip curled back. And keep 祝 at the front: you can’t say “good luck I wish you” in Chinese — 祝 always comes first.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “good luck” in Chinese?
“Good luck” in Chinese is 祝你好运, in pinyin zhù nǐ hǎoyùn.
How do you pronounce 祝你好运?
祝你好运 is read zhù nǐ hǎoyùn. The marks over the vowels are the tones: each syllable has its own melody, so listen to the recording on this page and repeat it.
How do you write “good luck” in Chinese characters?
祝你好运 is 4 characters. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 祝你好运 mean?
祝你好运 (zhù nǐ hǎoyùn) means “good luck”.
Wish someone luck out loud
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