Breakdown of Şanslı sayılırız; yağmur başlamadan eve dönebildik.
ev
the house
başlamak
to start
yağmur
the rain
-madan
before
Questions & Answers about Şanslı sayılırız; yağmur başlamadan eve dönebildik.
What does şanslı sayılırız mean exactly?
It literally means we are considered lucky or we count as lucky.
In natural English, depending on context, it can sound like:
- We can consider ourselves lucky
- We’re lucky, you could say
- We count ourselves lucky
So it is a little more nuanced than a plain we are lucky.
Why does the sentence use şanslı sayılırız instead of simply şanslıyız?
Because the two expressions are close, but not identical.
- şanslıyız = we are lucky
- şanslı sayılırız = we can be regarded as lucky / we count ourselves lucky
Şanslı sayılırız sounds a bit more evaluative. It suggests:
- looking at what happened,
- the speaker concludes that they were lucky.
So in this sentence, the second clause gives the reason, and the first clause gives the conclusion: we were lucky, because we managed to get home before the rain started.
How is sayılırız formed?