# A lucky person



## sakvaka

Whenever someone is lucky in *Finnish*, we call him _onnenpekka_. _Onnen_ is the genitive singular of _onni_ (luck) and _Pekka_ is a common Finnish male name. So: _Luck's Pekka_

In *Swedish*, they use another phrase - _lyckans ost_ (luck's cheese ).

I've heard that the *Americans* can apply a phrase like _I'm a lucky dog_. Is this true?

And how do you say it in other languages? Thanks in advance!


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## DearPrudence

In French, I don't think we have anything very colourful.
Just:
"*Un chanceux*" (from the noun "chance" = luck)
"*Un veinard*" (from the noun / expression "(avoir de) la veine" = literally: (to have) luck = to be lucky). A bit more colloquial


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## jazyk

In Portuguese: um sortudo (m.), uma sortuda (f.) (from _sorte_, luck).


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## Orlin

Bulgarian: късметлия/kasmetliya (късмет=luck (Turkish origin) and modified Turkish suffix -li is added to it).


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
«Τυχεράκιας»
(tiçe'racas _masculine noun_; used irrespective of sex).
It's formed with the joining together of the adjective «τυχερός, -ή, ό*» (tiçe'ros _masculine_, tiçe'ri _feminine_, tiçe'ro _neuter_)-->_lucky, fortunate,_ deriving from the Classical «τυχηρός*» (tŭxē'rŏs) with the same meaning + derogatory suffix «-άκιας» (-'acas)
or
the set expression «έχω τύχη* βουνό» ('exo 'tiçi vu'no) lit. "I've got luck [as big as] a mountain"

*Since ancient times «τύχη» ('tūxē _feminine noun_) described luck or the presiding tutelary deity that governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, goddess «Τύχη». From PIE base *dʰeugʰ-, _to push, abut, touch_ (cognate with Ger. _tüchtig_)


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## ilocas2

Czech:

klikař (klika - luck - from German Glück)
IMHO it's slightly old-fashioned


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## rusita preciosa

Russian:
*счастливчик* /stchastlivtchik/ - root meaning "happiness" + diminutive/endearment suffix 
*везунчик* /vezuntchik/ - root meaning "luck" + diminutive/endearment suffix


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## Frank78

In German we have: "der Glückspilz" (luck's mushroom).


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## Orlin

rusita preciosa said:


> Russian:
> *счастливчик* /stchastlivtchik/ - root meaning "happiness" + diminutive/endearment suffix


Bulgarian: щастливец/shtastlivets.


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## ilocas2

Orlin said:


> Bulgarian: щастливец/shtastlivets.



In Czech there's also *šťastlivec*, I couldn't remember, and it's used more than klikař


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## Black4blue

Orlin said:


> Bulgarian: късметлия/kasmetliya (късмет=luck (Turkish origin) and modified Turkish suffix -li is added to it).


 
That's cool. Even we don't use it much. It's an old word and doesn't mean _luck_ exactly. We use just a simple word, *şanslı.* (lucky)


*şans* comes from _chance_ or it's French version I guess. Don't say_ luck_ and _chance_ are not the same.  Cause they are the same word in Turkish.
We can also say *talih* which means *luck* only. And then add the same suffix (-lı,-li,-lu,-lü) to it to make it mean _lucky_: *talihli*.

Oh, I've just remembered. When someone wins huge money, we say "*başına talih kuşu kondu*" (The luck bird sat on his/her head).


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## catlady60

sakvaka said:


> I've heard that the *Americans* can apply a phrase like _I'm a lucky dog_. Is this true?



Yes it is!  Americans also say _He's/She's a lucky stiff, _or_ he/she stepped in dog shit _or _stepped in it _(at least in the New York area) when someone has, or had, a run of good luck.


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## Rallino

Black4blue said:


> That's cool. Even we don't use it much. It's an old word and doesn't mean _luck_ exactly. We use just a simple word, *şanslı.* (lucky)
> 
> 
> *şans* comes from _chance_ or it's French version I guess. Don't say_ luck_ and _chance_ are not the same.  Cause they are the same word in Turkish.
> We can also say *talih* which means *luck* only. And then add the same suffix (-lı,-li,-lu,-lü) to it to make it mean _lucky_: *talihli*.
> 
> Oh, I've just remembered. When someone wins huge money, we say "*başına talih kuşu kondu*" (The luck bird sat on his/her head).



We also say: "ballı" (lit. honey'ed). This is a little slang though.


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## Angelo di fuoco

Orlin said:


> Bulgarian: щастливец/shtastlivets.



The words счастливчик & счастливец are related (the first is the diminutive of the second), but счастливчик is a tiny (or not so tiny, depending on the meaning the speaker gives it) bit derogatory and, although quite neutral, not a high-style word and not very suitable even for newspaper articles.


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## Hakro

DearPrudence said:


> In French, I don't think we have anything very colourful.
> Just:
> "*Un chanceux*" (from the noun "chance" = luck)
> "*Un veinard*" (from the noun / expression "(avoir de) la veine" = literally: (to have) luck = to be lucky). A bit more colloquial


Mon dictionnaire dit aussi _*né coiffé* _- c'est très pittoresque, n'est-ce pas ?


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## mataripis

Tagalog: Isang mapalad na Tao!  *De pa Dumaget: E mapaled di Agta.


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## Alxmrphi

In the UK you say someone is really "jammy", with luck on their side, like they didn't do anything for a good action to happen.
I found jobs almost instantly when travelling Oz, and my friend often described me to others as being "really jammy".
Same thing when I didn't want to go bowling because I was too hungover and kept getting strikes without even trying.

But there are other ways, too.


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## ThomasK

Dutch (Belgium): *gelukzak *(luckbag, happinessbag)


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## MaxJ

Or in Dutch:

_Geluksvogel_ which means Lucky Bird.


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## ilhermeneuta

jazyk said:


> In Portuguese: um sortudo (m.), uma sortuda (f.) (from _sorte_, luck).



Similarly in Spanish we say: un suertudo (m.), una suertuda (f.).


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## 涼宮

Interesting! In Spanish from Venezuela, in colloquial we call a lucky person ''lechuo/a'' which literally means '' milky person'', and as far as I know, in Peru they use it too. But if you don't want to be colloquial, you just use ''suertudo/a'' as portuguese does.


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## ilhermeneuta

涼宮 said:


> Interesting! In Spanish from Venezuela, in colloquial we call a lucky person ''lechuo/a'' which literally means '' milky person'', and as far as I know, in Peru they use it too. But if you don't want to be colloquial, you just use ''suertudo/a'' as portuguese does.



Interesting indeed! I've heard that expression from Peruvians. In Mexico, however, I think we only use ''suertudo''. Sometimes ''afortunado'' can render the same meaning though.


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## 涼宮

ilhermeneuta said:


> Interesting indeed! I've heard that expression from Peruvians. In Mexico, however, I think we only use ''suertudo''. Sometimes ''afortunado'' can render the same meaning though.



I have heard more the word ''afortunado'' in Mexico, perhaps it depends on the region which one is the most used.


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## apmoy70

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek:
> «Τυχεράκιας»
> (tiçe'racas _masculine noun_; used irrespective of sex).
> It's formed with the joining together of the adjective «τυχερός, -ή, ό*» (tiçe'ros _masculine_, tiçe'ri _feminine_, tiçe'ro _neuter_)-->_lucky, fortunate,_ deriving from the Classical «τυχηρός*» (tŭxē'rŏs) with the same meaning + derogatory suffix «-άκιας» (-'acas)
> or
> the set expression «έχω τύχη* βουνό» ('exo 'tiçi vu'no) lit. "I've got luck [as big as] a mountain"
> 
> *Since ancient times «τύχη» ('tūxē _feminine noun_) described luck or the presiding tutelary deity that governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, goddess «Τύχη». From PIE base *dʰeugʰ-, _to push, abut, touch_ (cognate with Ger. _tüchtig_)



I apologize for quoting myself but I just remembered that in the casual spoken language (almost slang), the lucky person is «κωλόφαρδος, -η, -ο» (ko'lofarðos, _m._/ko'lofarði, _f._/ko'lofarðo, _n._)--> lit. _broad-assed_. Compound; masculine noun «κώλος» ('kolos), which derives from the Classical one «κῶλον» ('kōlŏn, _n._)--> init. _any part of body, limb_, later, _the rectum, buttocks_ (PIE base *(s)kel-, _to lean, bend, joint_) + adj. «φαρδύς, -ιά, -ύ» (far'ðis, _m._/far'ðja, _f._/far'ði, _n._)--> _broad, large, wide_.
It's an ancient metaphor appearing for the first time in Aristophanes' play «Νεφέλαι» (The clouds); there Aristophanes describes the lucky person as being «εὐρύπρωκτος» (eu'rŭprōktŏs), which is a verbatim of the modern one «κωλόφαρδος».
One often hears friends, when discussing someone's good fortune, expressing their surprise (or jealousy) with «τι φάρδος!» (ti 'farðos!) lit. "what a breadth!"


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## Nizo

In Esperanto, a lucky person (Am.E. lucky duck, lucky dog) is a *bonŝanculo*.


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## Encolpius

*Hungarian *szerencsefia [szerencse luck fia son]
*Czeh*: dítě Štěstěny [the same]


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## Grefsen

In Norwegian a lucky person can be called "*en heldiggris*" (a lucky pig).


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