Learn Hardcore German: Zum Glück ist mein Husten heute nicht schlimm.

Zum Glück literally comes from zu dem Glück (to the luck), but in modern German it is a fixed expression meaning fortunately or luckily.

Zum Glück is very common in spoken German and sounds natural and neutral.
glücklicherweise also means fortunately, but sounds a bit more formal or written.

You can usually replace Zum Glück with glücklicherweise without changing the meaning much:

Zum Glück ist mein Husten heute nicht schlimm.
Glücklicherweise ist mein Husten heute nicht schlimm.

Why is the verb ist before mein Husten and not after it?

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule: the conjugated verb must be in second position.

In the sentence:

Zum Glück = first element
ist = second element (the verb in second position)
mein Husten = the subject, which can come after the verb

So the structure is:

[Adverbial phrase] – [Verb] – [Subject] – [Rest]

You could also say:

Mein Husten ist heute zum Glück nicht schlimm.

Here Mein Husten is first, so ist must still be the second element.

Why is Husten capitalized, and what exactly does it mean here?

Husten is capitalized because it is a noun. In German, all nouns are capitalized.

Husten (noun) = cough, the condition/illness or the cough you have
husten (verb) = to cough

In mein Husten, it means my cough (the cough that I have), not the act of coughing at that moment.

Why is it mein Husten and not something like ich habe Husten?

Both are possible, but they express the idea slightly differently:

Mein Husten ist heute nicht schlimm.
Focuses on the cough itself as a thing that belongs to you (my cough).
Ich habe heute keinen schlimmen Husten.
Focuses on you having or not having a bad cough.

Both are idiomatic. Mein Husten ist … sounds very natural when talking about symptoms over time (today, yesterday, usually, etc.).

What case is mein Husten, and why is it mein and not meinen?

Mein Husten is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.

Masculine noun in nominative with mein:
- mein Husten (my cough)
Masculine noun in accusative with mein:
- meinen Husten (my cough as a direct object)

Here, mein Husten is not an object; it is the thing that is not bad. So it must be nominative: mein Husten, not meinen Husten.

Why is there no article before Husten? Why not der Husten?

You can say der Husten:

Zum Glück ist der Husten heute nicht schlimm.

Both der Husten and mein Husten are fine. In the given sentence, the possessive mein already specifies whose cough it is, so no article is needed (and you cannot combine der + mein here).

Typical patterns:

der Husten (the cough)
mein Husten (my cough)
kein Husten (no cough)

Why is heute placed after mein Husten? Could it go somewhere else?

Yes, heute (today) is a time adverb and can move around fairly freely. All of these are correct:

Zum Glück ist mein Husten heute nicht schlimm.
Mein Husten ist heute zum Glück nicht schlimm.
Heute ist mein Husten zum Glück nicht schlimm.

The meaning is the same; the differences are in emphasis and rhythm. The original sentence slightly emphasizes the relief (Zum Glück) first and then identifies what is better today.

What is the nuance of nicht schlimm? Does it mean “not bad at all” or just “not very bad”?

Nicht schlimm most often means not bad / not serious, but it can be a bit vague.

Zum Glück ist mein Husten heute nicht schlimm.
Usually understood as: it is mild or not serious, not a big problem.

For stronger or more precise nuances:

nicht so schlimm = not that bad
nicht sehr schlimm = not very bad
gar nicht schlimm = not bad at all

So nicht schlimm on its own is somewhere between not serious and not particularly bad.

Why doesn’t schlimm have an ending, like schlimmer or schlimmen?

Here, schlimm is a predicate adjective after a form of sein (to be).

In German, adjectives:

take endings before nouns:
- ein schlimmer Husten (a bad cough)
- mein schlimmer Husten (my bad cough)
do not take endings when they come after sein (or werden, bleiben) as a predicate:
- Mein Husten ist schlimm.
- Mein Husten ist nicht schlimm.

So schlimm has no ending here because it is in predicate position after ist.

Is Zum Glück ist mein Husten heute nicht schlimm formal or informal?

The sentence is neutral and fine in both spoken and written German. It is not slangy or particularly formal.

You could say it:

to a friend or family member
to a doctor
in a message or email

It fits everyday, polite conversation.

How do I pronounce the difficult parts: Zum Glück, Husten, and schlimm?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA and rough English hints):

Zum Glück – /tsʊm ɡlʏk/
- z like ts in cats
- u like oo in book
- ü (in Glück) is a fronted u, like French u in lune
Husten – /ˈhuːstn̩/
- Hu like hoo in hoop
- st here like st in stone
- The final -en is often reduced, almost like -n
schlimm – /ʃlɪm/
- sch like sh in ship
- i like i in ship
- mm like English m, short and closed at the end