chanceux
/ʃɑ̃.sø/
The English word lucky can be translated into French as chanceux, heureux or veinard.
Meaning: of people, having good fortune (adj)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| chanceux | /ʃɑ̃.sø/ | |
| heureux | /œ.ʁø/ /ø.ʁø/ |
|
| veinard | /vɛ.naʁ/ /ve.naʁ/ |
colloquial |
These words are used to describe people who possess good fortune.
Which one should you use?
Chanceux refers specifically to the state of having good luck or a stroke of chance. In contrast, heureux is much more commonly used to mean 'happy'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Veinard is a colloquial term used to describe a lucky person, often in a friendly or slightly envious manner. For more formal contexts, you may use fortuné or fortunée to express being lucky.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine form chanceux has several gendered variations: chanceuse is the feminine form, and chanceuses is the feminine plural form.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʃɑ̃.sø/ (two syllables)
Did you know?
- If a French speaker says avoir du bol, they are calling someone lucky. The word bol literally means 'bowl', but in this idiom, it refers to a lucky break.
- The colloquial term veinard is derived from veine, which literally means 'vein'. This refers to the idea of having a 'lucky vein' of luck running through a person.
- In French culture, wishing someone bonne chance is common, but in some superstitions, saying it before a performance is considered a jinx, similar to the English 'break a leg'.
Examples in context
- Tom est un veinard.Tom is a lucky bastard.This sentence shows how to use the colloquial term veinard to describe a person.Tatoeba #14060733 by Myrano_, translation #1462015 by Spamster
- Te sens-tu chanceux ?Do you feel lucky?This sentence uses chanceux to ask about a person's feeling of luck.Tatoeba #1809084 by sacredceltic, translation #1808126 by Spamster
- Je me considère chanceux.I consider myself lucky.This sentence demonstrates the use of chanceux when describing one's own state of being lucky.Tatoeba #5324537 by Aiji, translation #4496879 by CK
- Il a eu la chance de gagner la loterieHe was lucky to win the lottery
- T'es chanceux d'avoir ce nouveau téléphoneYou're lucky to have that new phone
- Il est toujours veinard aux jeux de hasardHe's always lucky in games of chance
- Grâce à ses compétences, il a été chanceux d'obtenir ce poste de travail.Thanks to his skills, he was lucky to get that job.
- Mon ami est veinard, il a gagné une semaine de vacances à la loterie.My friend is lucky, he won a week of vacation in the lottery.
- Elle est chanceuse d'habiter dans cette magnifique maison.She is lucky to live in this beautiful house.
- 109 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are talking about a friend's sudden success.
- NathanMarc est vraiment chanceux.Marc is really lucky.
- LéaOui, il a eu beaucoup de chance.Yes, he had a lot of luck.
- NathanIl est chanceux d'avoir trouvé ce billet de loterie.He is lucky to have found this lottery ticket.
- LéaC'est incroyable, Nathan.It is incredible, Nathan.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lucky” translations and entries chanceux, heureux, veinard, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chanceux, heureux, veinard, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
