Good Luck in Chinese: 祝你好运, 加油, and 25 Encouraging Sentences

沉浸 TeamOctober 15, 20266 min read

Good luck in Chinese is 祝你好运 (zhù nǐ hǎo yùn): 祝 (zhù, "wish") + 你 (nǐ, "you") + 好运 (hǎo yùn, "good luck"). It's correct, everyone understands it, and it's what the textbooks teach. But if you listen to what Chinese speakers say to each other before an exam, a race, or a hard week, you'll hear a different word far more often: 加油 (jiāyóu).

加油 literally means "add oil", as in fuel, and it's the all-purpose "you've got this!" of the Chinese-speaking world. This guide covers both, plus 25 encouraging sentences you can send to a friend, the luck phrases for exams and the new year, and how to say cheers, as part of our essential Chinese phrases guide.

How to say and write good luck in Chinese

祝你好运 (zhù nǐ hǎo yùn): "I wish you good luck". The direct translation. Use it for anything that depends on chance: a lottery ticket, a raffle, a blind date.
好运 (hǎo yùn): "good luck", the noun. 祝你好运 without the 祝你 still works as a short wish.
运气 (yùnqi): luck, fortune, the general word. 我运气很好 (wǒ yùnqi hěn hǎo), "I'm lucky."
Traditional: 祝你好運 / 好運

Want to write it out? Our free character practice sheets print a stroke-order grid for 祝你好运 and 加油.

加油: the phrase people say instead

加油 (jiāyóu) is "come on!", "go for it!", "hang in there!", "you can do it!" and "good luck!" rolled into one. It's chanted at sports matches, texted before exams, said to a friend who's dieting, and shouted by crowds at marathon runners. The image is a car being refueled: keep going, here's more energy.

The difference from 祝你好运 is effort versus chance. 加油 is for things the person has some control over: a test, a presentation, a workout, a breakup. 祝你好运 is for dice rolls. Say 加油 before a Chinese exam and you sound like a friend; say 祝你好运 and you sound like you think it's out of their hands.

Ways to use it:

加油！ (Jiāyóu!) Go for it! The bare form.
明天考试，加油！ (Míngtiān kǎoshì, jiāyóu!) Exam tomorrow, you've got this!
给你加油！ (Gěi nǐ jiāyóu!) I'm cheering for you!
中国队加油！ (Zhōngguó duì jiāyóu!) Go Team China! (what you hear in stadiums)

25 encouraging sentences in Chinese

If you came here looking for a Chinese sentence that's encouraging, these are the ones native speakers send each other. Pinyin and English on every line.

Short and warm (for texting):

你一定可以的！ (Nǐ yídìng kěyǐ de!) You can definitely do it!
我相信你。 (Wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ.) I believe in you.
别放弃！ (Bié fàngqì!) Don't give up!
你很棒！ (Nǐ hěn bàng!) You're great!
加油，你是最棒的！ (Jiāyóu, nǐ shì zuì bàng de!) Go for it, you're the best!
没事的。 (Méishì de.) It's okay. It'll be fine.
慢慢来。 (Mànmàn lái.) Take your time. No rush.
一步一步来。 (Yí bù yí bù lái.) One step at a time.
不要怕。 (Búyào pà.) Don't be afraid.
我们都支持你。 (Wǒmen dōu zhīchí nǐ.) We're all behind you.

Wishes for success:

祝你成功！ (Zhù nǐ chénggōng!) Wishing you success!
祝你一切顺利。 (Zhù nǐ yíqiè shùnlì.) May everything go smoothly. The polite, all-purpose wish.
祝你考试顺利！ (Zhù nǐ kǎoshì shùnlì!) Hope your exam goes smoothly!
祝你面试顺利！ (Zhù nǐ miànshì shùnlì!) Hope your interview goes well!
祝你早日康复。 (Zhù nǐ zǎorì kāngfù.) Get well soon.

Four-character idioms (the ones on greeting cards):

马到成功 (mǎ dào chénggōng): "success the moment the horse arrives", instant success.
旗开得胜 (qí kāi dé shèng): "win as soon as the flag unfurls", victory from the start.
心想事成 (xīn xiǎng shì chéng): "may what your heart wishes come true".
万事如意 (wàn shì rú yì): "may all ten thousand things go as you wish".
金榜题名 (jīn bǎng tí míng): "your name on the golden list", the classic wish for exam success.

Proverbs for the long haul:

坚持就是胜利。 (Jiānchí jiùshì shènglì.) Persistence is victory.
失败是成功之母。 (Shībài shì chénggōng zhī mǔ.) Failure is the mother of success.
有志者事竟成。 (Yǒu zhì zhě shì jìng chéng.) Where there's a will, there's a way.
千里之行，始于足下。 (Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià.) A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
世上无难事，只怕有心人。 (Shì shàng wú nán shì, zhǐ pà yǒu xīn rén.) Nothing is hard for someone who sets their heart on it.

The idioms in the third group are chengyu, and the last group are classic Chinese proverbs; both guides have more.

Good luck for Chinese New Year

Luck wishes peak at Spring Festival. The ones you'll see on red banners and hear at the door:

新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè): Happy New Year.
恭喜发财 (gōngxǐ fācái): "wishing you wealth", the classic greeting.
万事如意 (wànshì rúyì) and 心想事成 (xīnxiǎng shìchéng): see above, both huge at New Year.
好运连连 (hǎoyùn liánlián): good luck one after another.

Our Chinese New Year guide has the full greeting list and the dos and don'ts.

The Chinese symbol for good luck

The character is 福 (fú): "good fortune, blessing". It's the red diamond pasted on doors at New Year, often upside down, because "福 upside down" (福倒了, fú dào le) sounds like "fortune has arrived" (福到了, fú dào le). Two more lucky characters: 吉 (jí, "auspicious", as in 吉祥 jíxiáng) and 顺 (shùn, "smooth"). Our guide to Chinese symbols and their meanings covers the lucky numbers and animals too.

How to say cheers in Chinese

Since "good luck" and "cheers" share a search box: cheers is 干杯 (gānbēi), literally "dry the cup". Taken seriously at a Chinese banquet, 干杯 means empty your glass. If you'd rather sip, say 随意 (suíyì, "as you please") as you raise it, which signals a sip is fine. For a toast with a wish attached: 祝你身体健康 (zhù nǐ shēntǐ jiànkāng, "to your health"), 干杯!

Want to hear how 加油 sounds when it's shouted versus texted? Every linked word in this post has a dictionary page with audio, and a free Chenjin account lets you save the sentences you want to send as flashcards and practice the tones with Tone Coach. Sign up free to start.

FAQ

How do you say good luck in Mandarin?

祝你好运 (zhù nǐ hǎo yùn) is the direct translation. For anything that takes effort, like an exam or a game, people say 加油 (jiāyóu), "go for it!", instead.

What does jia you mean?

加油 (jiāyóu) literally means "add oil" (refuel). As a phrase it means "come on", "keep going", "you can do it", or "good luck". It's the most common encouragement in Chinese.

How do you write good luck in Chinese?

好运 (hǎo yùn) is "good luck". The full wish is 祝你好运 (zhù nǐ hǎo yùn). The single lucky character is 福 (fú).

Give me a Chinese sentence that is encouraging.

你一定可以的 (nǐ yídìng kěyǐ de), "You can definitely do it." Or the proverb 坚持就是胜利 (jiānchí jiùshì shènglì), "Persistence is victory."

How do you say cheers in Mandarin?

干杯 (gānbēi), "dry the cup". Add 随意 (suíyì) if you only want to sip rather than drain the glass.