Difference between revisions of "Expressing good luck with "haihao""

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*<em>幸亏</em> 我们 走 得 早,<strong>不然</strong> 就 迟到 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìngkuī</em> wǒmen zǒu zǎo, <strong>bùrán</strong> jiù chídào le.</span><span class="trans">Luckily, we left early, otherwise we could have been late.</span>
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*<em>幸亏</em> 我们 走 得 早,<strong>不然</strong> 就 迟到 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìngkuī</em> wǒmen zǒu de zǎo, <strong>bùrán</strong> jiù chídào le.</span><span class="trans">Luckily, we left early, otherwise we could have been late.</span>
 
*<em>幸好</em> 我 妈 没 看到,<strong>不然</strong> 她 肯定 要 生气。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìnghǎo</em> wǒ mā méi kàndào, <strong>bùrán</strong> tā kěndìng yào shēngqì.</span><span class="trans">It's a good thing that my mother didn't see it, otherwise she would definitely be mad.</span>
 
*<em>幸好</em> 我 妈 没 看到,<strong>不然</strong> 她 肯定 要 生气。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìnghǎo</em> wǒ mā méi kàndào, <strong>bùrán</strong> tā kěndìng yào shēngqì.</span><span class="trans">It's a good thing that my mother didn't see it, otherwise she would definitely be mad.</span>
 
*<em>幸亏</em> 你 在,<strong>不然</strong> 我 不 知道 该 找 谁。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìngkuī</em> nǐ zài, <strong>bùrán</strong> wǒ bù zhīdao gāi zhǎo shéi.</span><span class="trans">Fortunately you're here, otherwise I don't know who I could turn to.</span>
 
*<em>幸亏</em> 你 在,<strong>不然</strong> 我 不 知道 该 找 谁。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìngkuī</em> nǐ zài, <strong>bùrán</strong> wǒ bù zhīdao gāi zhǎo shéi.</span><span class="trans">Fortunately you're here, otherwise I don't know who I could turn to.</span>
 
*<em>幸好</em> 他们 都 走 了,<strong>不然</strong> 我 要 疯 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìnghǎo</em> tāmen dōu zǒu le, <strong>bùrán</strong>  wǒ yào fēng le.</span><span class="trans">Luckily, they all left, otherwise I could be driven crazy.</span>
 
*<em>幸好</em> 他们 都 走 了,<strong>不然</strong> 我 要 疯 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìnghǎo</em> tāmen dōu zǒu le, <strong>bùrán</strong>  wǒ yào fēng le.</span><span class="trans">Luckily, they all left, otherwise I could be driven crazy.</span>
*<em>幸好</em> 今天 带 伞 了,<strong>不然</strong> 要 淋湿 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìnghǎo</em> jīntiān dài sǎnle,<strong>bùrán</strong> yào línshī le.</span><span class="trans">It's a good thing I brought the umbrella. Otherwise, I would have gotten soaked.</span>
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*<em>幸好</em> 今天 带 伞 了,<strong>不然</strong> 要 淋湿 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Xìnghǎo</em> jīntiān dài sǎn le,<strong>bùrán</strong> yào línshī le.</span><span class="trans">It's a good thing I brought the umbrella. Otherwise, I would have gotten soaked.</span>
  
 
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Revision as of 01:57, 24 November 2016

Chinese-grammar-wiki-buran.jpg

幸亏 (xìngkuī), 幸好 (xìnghǎo), and 还好 (háihǎo) mean "fortunately" or "luckily." They can be used to express that something has happened by chance, and has thereby enabled you to avoid some difficulty or bad luck. It is often followed with 不然 (which precedes the bad thing that could have happened).

Expressing Luck with 幸亏 and 幸好

It's as simple is adding 幸亏 or 幸好 before the thing that makes you feel lucky.

Structure

The pattern is:

幸亏 / 幸好 + [Lucky Incident]

And if you want to add in 不然 for an "otherwise... (this really bad thing would have happened)" explanation, use this structure:

幸亏 / 幸好 + [Lucky Incident], 不然 + [bad thing that could have happened]

Examples

  • 幸亏 我们 走 得 早,不然 就 迟到 了。Xìngkuī wǒmen zǒu de zǎo, bùrán jiù chídào le.Luckily, we left early, otherwise we could have been late.
  • 幸好 我 妈 没 看到,不然 她 肯定 要 生气。Xìnghǎo 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.
  • 幸亏 你 在,不然 我 不 知道 该 找 谁。Xìngkuī nǐ zài, bùrán wǒ bù zhīdao gāi zhǎo shéi.Fortunately you're here, otherwise I don't know who I could turn to.
  • 幸好 他们 都 走 了,不然 我 要 疯 了。Xìnghǎo tāmen dōu zǒu le, bùrán wǒ yào fēng le.Luckily, they all left, otherwise I could be driven crazy.
  • 幸好 今天 带 伞 了,不然 要 淋湿 了。Xìnghǎo jīntiān dài sǎn le,bùrán yào línshī le.It's a good thing I brought the umbrella. Otherwise, I would have gotten soaked.

Expressing Luck with 还好

“还好” can also mean “fortunately,” but is more colloquial than 幸好 or 幸亏.

Structure

还好 + [Lucky Incident]

And if you want to "不然 it up" with an "otherwise..." explanation, use this structure:

还好 + [Lucky Incident], 不然……

Examples

  • 还好 我 没 听 他的,不然 我 就 倒霉 了。Hái hǎo wǒ méi tīng tā de, bùrán wǒ jiù dǎoméi le.It's a good thing I didn't listen to him. Otherwise I would have been in for it.
  • 还好 我 保存 了,不然 文件 都 丢 了。Hái hǎo wǒ bǎocún le, bùrán wénjiàn dōu diū le.Luckily I saved it, otherwise I would have lost all of the documents.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries