# Een geluk bij een ongeluk



## Bull's Eye

Beste forumleden,

Bestaat er een Franse zegswijze voor "een geluk bij een ongeluk", die qua beeldspraak vrij dicht bij de Nederlandse versie ligt?

Hartelijk dank voor jullie hulp!


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## Brownpaperbag

Hoi,

Wellicht: à_ quelque chose malheur est bon_

Brown


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## Suehil

"D'un malheur est né un bonheur", misschien.


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## Bull's Eye

Dank jullie wel! Ik ga voor "à quelque chose malheur est bon". Niet omdat die noodzakelijk beter is dan de tweede, maar gewoon omdat die mij nu beter uitkomt ;-)


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## Dehemelisgrijs

Sorry, but I would like to know what that means. Is it something like fortune in misfortune? Like, when something bad happens there is after all something good?
Sorry for bothering you with stupid questions 
Het is de zomervakantie en ik heb niets interessants te doen


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## Bull's Eye

You could indeed translate it as fortune in misfortune. But there is a slight difference between the Dutch and the French version. 

In the Dutch proverb, the fortune is not a necessity. You use this proverb when you accidentally get some luck out of a misfortune.

The French proverb claims that there is always something good that comes out of something bad, no mather how bad it is.


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## Dehemelisgrijs

dank je. In Serbian we have the same phrase, the meaning is almost the same as in Dutch


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## Chimel

Bull's Eye said:


> In the Dutch proverb, the fortune is not a necessity. You use this proverb when you accidentally get some luck out of a misfortune.
> 
> The French proverb claims that there is always something good that comes out of something bad, no mather how bad it is.


I don't quite agree. "A quelque chose, malheur est bon" is not a proverb expressing some sort of general "truth", like "La fortune sourit aux audacieux".

Perhaps it used to be so, but now we also use it in reference to a specific situation, when you accidentally get some luck out of a misfortune, as you rightly put it. So I think both expressions (as well as "fortune in misfortune" and the Serbian one...) are really very close.


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## Ktke

For me it's important that without the little bit of luck, the misfortune would have been even larger. For example: The waiter spilled coffee on my lap, but luckally it wasn't that hot (while I normally expect the coffe to be hot)
But maybe that's not the only possible use, it's how I most commonly use it.


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## Vasiliy

Dehemelisgrijs said:


> dank je. In Serbian we have the same phrase, the meaning is almost the same as in Dutch


 
How is it in Serbian?


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## DearPrudence

Ktke said:


> For me it's important that without the little bit of luck, the misfortune would have been even larger. For example: The waiter spilled coffee on my lap, but luckally it wasn't that hot (while I normally expect the coffe to be hot)
> But maybe that's not the only possible use, it's how I most commonly use it.


How would this be translated into English?

Another example here:
"Dat heeft de brand veroorzaakt. [...] “Het is een geluk bij een ongeluk dat het op tijd ontdekt is. De schade is aanzienlijk, maar is toch nog enigszins beperkt gebleven."

Het woord van vandaag suggests "not a great deal worse", but as a non native speaker, I don't manage to make sense of this.


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## Chimel

I don't know in English, but I would like to point out that in French "A quelque chose malheur est bon" wouldn't do in this case (as there is nothing positive in the fire).

I don't see anything better than the quite literal translation "Une chance dans le malheur a été que..." It is not very idiomatic but why not?


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## DearPrudence

Chimel said:


> I don't see anything better than the quite literal translation "Une chance dans le malheur a été que..." It is not very idiomatic but why not?


Je pensais sinon à quelque chose comme "dans son malheur, il/elle a eu de la chance" ?
avoir de la chance dans son malheur (définition)


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## Chimel

Oui mais ici, à propos de l'incendie, ça ne marche pas très bien.


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## DearPrudence

Dans leur malheur, ils ont eu la chance de découvrir l'incendie à temps (= ça aurait pu être pire).
Ça ne marche pas si mal il me semble, non ?  Mieux que "A quelque chose malheur est bon" en tout cas.


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