شانس
šâns[ʃɒːns]
The English word luck is شانس (šâns) in Persian.
شانس is a noun meaning something that happens to someone by chance.
Meaning: something that happens to someone by chance (noun)
Which one should you use?
While شانس is the common word for luck, the word بخت is often used in more formal, literary or poetic contexts to refer to one's fate or fortune.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express being lucky or having luck, you can use the verbal expression شانس آوردن, which literally means 'to bring luck'. To express being unlucky or having no luck, use شانس نداشتن, which literally means 'to not have luck'. You can also form adjectives from the noun: prefixing خوش (good) to شانس creates خوش‌شانس (lucky), while prefixing بد (bad) creates بدشانس (unlucky).
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is šâns.
Did you know?
- The linguistic journey of شانس connects Persian directly to Latin roots through the French 'chance' and the Latin 'cadens'.
- In Persian culture, the concept of 'luck' is often entwined with the idea of 'divine will', leading to the common phrase قسمت to describe what was meant to happen.
- The word بخت is used in the term بخت برگشتن, which describes the moment someone's luck suddenly turns around for the better.
Examples in context
- برخی مواقع به شانس بستگی داردSometimes it depends on luck.The sentence is useful for saying that something depends on شانس.Tatoeba #4143735 by hamedkord, translation #4141476 by Ricardo14
- با شانس محض یک بلا از سر گذشت.A calamity was avoided by sheer luck.The sentence shows how a calamity was avoided by sheer شانس.Tatoeba #12732996 by cojiluc, translation #275701 by CM
- ما با خوش‌شانسی محض نجات یافتیم.We survived by sheer luck.The sentence illustrates surviving by sheer luck using the word شانس.Tatoeba #7830878 by cojiluc, translation #248988 by U2FS
- موفق باشی!May you be successful!
Example conversation
Zahra and Mohammad are talking about a lottery.
- زهرا Zahraآیا تو شانس آوردی؟Âyâ to şâns âvardi?Did you have any luck?
- محمد Mohammadنه، من اصلا شانس ندارم.Na, man aslâ şâns nadâram.No, I have no luck at all.
- زهرا Zahraواقعا متاسفم، محمد.Vâqe'an motâsefam, Mohammad.I am truly sorry, Mohammad.
- محمد Mohammadمهم نیست، شاید دفعه بعد.Mohem nist, şâyad dafe-ye ba'd.It doesn't matter, maybe next time.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “luck” translations and entries شانس, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries شانس, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
