Expressing good luck with "haihao"

还好 (háihǎo) can mean "fortunately" or "luckily." Another good translation would be "it's a good thing that...." It is often followed with 不然, which precedes the bad thing that could have happened if not for the stroke of luck.

Structure

还好 + [Lucky Incident] ，不然 + [Bad Outcome]

Examples

• 还好 我们 打车 来 的 ，不然 就 迟到 了 。Háihǎo wǒmen dǎchē lái de, bùrán jiù chídào le.Luckily, we came by taxi. Otherwise we would have been late.
• 还好 我 妈 没 看到 ，不然 她 肯定 要 生气 。Háihǎo wǒ mā méi kàndào, bùrán tā kěndìng yào shēngqì.It's a good thing that my mother didn't see it. Otherwise she would definitely be mad.
• 还好 有 你 在 ，不然 我 真 不 知道 怎么 办 。Háihǎo yǒu nǐ zài, bùrán wǒ zhēn bù zhīdào zěnme bàn.Fortunately you're here. Otherwise I really wouldn't have known what to do.
• 还好 带 伞 了 ，不然 肯定 淋湿 了 。Háihǎo dài sǎn le, bùrán kěndìng línshī le.It's a good thing I brought the umbrella. Otherwise, I would have definitely gotten soaked.
• 还好 我们 买 了 很多 ，不然 肯定 不够 。 Háihǎo wǒmen mǎi le hěn duō, bùrán kěndìng bù gòu.Luckily, we bought a lot. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough.
• 还好 我 没 听 他 的 话，不然 就 输 了 。Hái hǎo wǒ méi tīng tā de huà, bùrán jiù shū le.It's a good thing I didn't listen to him. Otherwise, I would have lost.
• 还好 我 保存 了，不然 文件 都 丢 了 。Háihǎo wǒ bǎocún le, bùrán wénjiàn dōu diū le.Luckily, I saved it. Otherwise, I would have lost all of the documents.
• 还好 我 没 点 那么 多 菜 ，不然 都 浪费 了 。Háihǎo wǒ méi diǎn nàme duō cài, bùrán dōu làngfèi le.It's a good thing I didn't order that much food. Otherwise, it would have all been wasted.
• 还好 老板 不 知道 ，不然 你 肯定 被 炒 鱿鱼 。Háihǎo lǎobǎn bù zhīdào, bùrán nǐ kěndìng bèi chǎo yóuyú.Luckily, the boss doesn't know about it. Otherwise, you would definitely get fired.
• 还好 你 提醒 我 了 ，不然 我 肯定 忘 了。Háihǎo nǐ tíxǐng wǒ le, bùrán wǒ kěndìng wàng le.It's a good thing you reminded me. Otherwise, I would have definitely forgotten.

See also

• Expressing "thanks to" with "duokui"
• Expressing "how about" with "yaobu"

Sources and further reading

Books

:Yes