Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Good Luck in Spanish: Buena Suerte and the Friendly Variants You'll Hear
¡Buena suerte! · phrase · BWEH-nah SWEHR-teh
Good luck in Spanish is ¡buena suerte! formally, and just ¡suerte! in everyday speech (very common). ¡Mucha suerte! adds warmth (lots of luck). ¡éxitos! wishes specific success (with exam, interview). ¡Que te vaya bien! is may things go well for you.
Buena suerte is BWEH-nah SWEHR-teh, four syllables, stress on BWEH and SWEHR. Suerte is SWEHR-teh, two syllables. The exclamation marks bracket the phrase in writing: ¡...!
¡Buena suerte en tu examen!
Good luck on your exam!
Good Luck in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for good luck, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¡buena suerte! | good luck | BWEH-nah SWEHR-teh | Default, widely understood |
| ¡suerte! | good luck | shorter, very common spoken version | |
| ¡mucha suerte! | good luck | lots of luck (warmer) | |
| ¡éxitos! | good luck | wishing success specifically | |
| ¡que te vaya bien! | good luck | may things go well for you |
How Native Speakers Use ¡Buena suerte!
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Standard phrase
¡Buena suerte con la entrevista!
Good luck with the interview!
The polite, full phrase. Works for any context: exams, job interviews, performances, big decisions.
Casual
¡Suerte mañana!
Good luck tomorrow!
Just ¡suerte! is the most common spoken version. It's warm without being formal, the everyday way friends wish each other luck.
Wishing success specifically
¡Éxitos en tu nueva aventura!
Best of luck (success) in your new adventure!
Éxitos (literally successes) is a slightly different wish than suerte: it focuses on outcomes rather than chance. Common in cards, professional wishes, and life-milestone moments.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using ¡Buena suerte!
Translating literally as buena luck or buena fortuna
Incorrect: Buena luck.
Correct: Buena suerte.
Spanish never borrows luck; suerte is the right word. Buena fortuna also exists but sounds literary or old-fashioned. ¡Buena suerte! and ¡suerte! are what natives actually say.
Forgetting the inverted exclamation
Incorrect: Buena suerte!
Correct: ¡Buena suerte!
Spanish opens exclamations with ¡ and closes with !. In informal text messages many native speakers skip the ¡ too, but in formal writing both marks are required.
Why Good Luck Matters in Spanish-Speaking Cultures
Mucha mierda for performers
Among performers, musicians, actors, and dancers, the traditional good luck wish is ¡mucha mierda! (literally lots of shit). It's the Spanish equivalent of break a leg, with similar superstitious origins. Saying ¡buena suerte! to a performer right before they go on stage is sometimes considered bad luck. Stick with ¡mucha mierda! in performing-arts contexts.
Lock in Good Luck Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See ¡Buena suerte! used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using ¡buena suerte! in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear ¡Buena suerte en tu examen! while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Good Luck in Spanish
- How do you say good luck in Spanish?
- Good luck in Spanish is ¡buena suerte! (formal) or just ¡suerte! (everyday). For warmer wishes, ¡mucha suerte!. For success specifically, ¡éxitos!. For a heartfelt may things go well for you, use ¡que te vaya bien!. All open with ¡ and close with !.
- What's the difference between suerte and éxito?
- Suerte is luck (chance, fortune): ¡buena suerte en el examen!. Éxito is success (the outcome): ¡mucho éxito en tu nueva carrera!. They overlap but lean differently: suerte is for processes that depend on chance; éxito is for outcomes you're actively pursuing. Use both freely; natives mix them.
- How do you wish a performer good luck in Spanish?
- For performers (theater, music, dance), the traditional Spanish wish is ¡mucha mierda! (literally lots of shit), the equivalent of break a leg. ¡Buena suerte! is sometimes avoided right before a performance because of theater superstition. After the show, ¡qué bien lo hiciste! (you did great) or ¡felicidades!.
- How do I remember good luck in Spanish?
- Hear native speakers wish each other suerte before exams, interviews, dates, and decisions in Parrot's videos. The phrase becomes a reflex instead of a translation, and you'll naturally pick up ¡suerte!, ¡mucha suerte!, and ¡que te vaya bien! as separate flavors.