suerte
/ˈsweɾte/feminine
Luck in Spanish is suerte.
The word suerte refers to something that happens to someone by chance. A common way to wish someone well is to say ¡Buena suerte!, which is the standard way to wish someone good luck.
Meaning: something that happens to someone by chance (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun suerte is feminine, so any accompanying adjectives must also be feminine, such as buena suerte (good luck). To express that someone 'is lucky', Spanish uses the idiomatic phrase tener suerte, which literally means 'to have luck'.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈsweɾte/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Because suerte is strictly a noun, do not use it as an adjective to describe a person. Instead, use an adjective like afortunado.
Did you know?
- Spanish has a specific word salado, meaning 'salted', which is used colloquially in some regions to describe someone who has chronically bad suerte.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, when someone says ¡Buena suerte!, it can actually be perceived as a jinx or a bad omen, especially in theater or certain superstitious circles.
- The Spanish word suerte comes from the Latin sortem, which originally referred to the act of casting lots or drawing straws to make a decision.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué es la suerte?What is luck?Tatoeba #2350777 by Shishir, translation #4765806 by Xandaros
- ¡Creé en la suerte!Believe in luck!Tatoeba #1944004 by hayastan, translation #1945922 by Scott
- La suerte no existe.Luck doesn't exist.Tatoeba #4620392 by saverius, translation #4646527 by zpaden
- Le deseo suerte en su nueva aventura empresarial.I wish you luck in your new business venture.
- Le deseo mucha fortuna en el torneo de tenis.I wish you a lot of luck in the tennis tournament.
- 131 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are talking about a lottery ticket.
- Javier¿Ganaste el premio, Lucía?Did you win the prize, Lucía?
- LucíaNo, pero tuve mucha suerte con el número.No, but I had a lot of luck with the number.
- JavierAl menos te divertiste con el juego.At least you had fun with the game.
- LucíaSí, la suerte no estuvo de mi lado.Yes, luck was not on my side.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “luck” translations and entries suerte, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries suerte, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
