Learn French: Tu as de la chance !

Tu as de la chance !

You are lucky!

Breakdown of Tu as de la chance !

avoir de la chance

to be lucky

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Questions & Answers about Tu as de la chance !

Why does it use as (have) instead of es (are)?

In English, we say someone is lucky. In French, you have luck (avoir de la chance). So, Tu as translates to You have, but the whole phrase means You are lucky.

Why is there a de la before chance?

Chance (luck) is a feminine uncountable noun. In French, you cannot just say you have luck; you must use a partitive article (meaning some). So, de la chance literally means some luck.

How would I say You are not lucky using the negative rule from this lesson?

You would say Tu n'as pas de chance !. When you make the sentence negative, the partitive article de la changes to just de. This is the rule for absolute negation: pas de replaces un, une, des, du, and de la.

Does chance mean the same thing as the English word chance?

Usually not! While they look identical, the French word chance almost always means luck. If you want to say a chance as in an opportunity, you would use a different word, like une occasion.