Ganbatte! vs. Good Luck! vs...

Let's say your friend tells you they are about to take a driving test, go up to talk to a cute girl/boy at a bar, go to hospital for an operation, or climb up a cliff face. What do you say to them?

In English, most people automatically say "Good luck!"

In French you probably say "Bonne chance!" which means the same thing; in German it's "Viel Glück" (same again), or "Mach's Gut!" (make good!)

In Japanese the standard no-thinking-about-it phrase is 頑張って！　がんばって！　ganbatte! (or gambatte!) (alternatives: 頑張れ！　頑張れよ！頑張ってね！　頑張って下さい！）

In the west (at least in the languages I'm familiar with) you wish the person to have luck, which is a something that is bestowed upon them by the random forces of the cosmos. I have a feeling, though I may be off on this, that wishing someone luck evolved from the religious equivalents "May God be with you!" "My prayers are with you!"

Of course there are ways to say Good Luck in Japanese, but when you wish someone luck you are consciously choosing to say so. For instance you might say to someone who's bought a lottery ticket, ご幸運をお祈りします - ごこううんをおいのりします gokouun o oinorishimasu. I wish you (pray for your) good luck.

But the phrase that is automatically said in most situations has nothing to do with luck. The base form of the Japanese phrase is 頑張る　がんばる　ganbaru (gambaru) which means to strive, to try ones best. So 頑張って　means 'Go and try your best!' The onus is put on the efforts of the person or persons involved in the endeavor, rather than random forces or a higher entity.

A subtle yes interesting difference, no?

(The German Mach's Gut might be closer in intent to 頑張って. Not sure about the theatrical Break a leg! - does that mean that the actor tries so hard that he's supposed to break a leg, or just reserve-luckology, the equivalent of wishing someone bad luck?)

Comments

[yoko]

I've always thought that "break a leg" was "reverse luckology"- wishing bad luck when you really mean good luck.

My mom's version of 頑張って in English is "try harder." I guess that makes sense in a way, no? I always thought she meant that I wasn't trying hard enough, but now I think she really meant to say "do your best."

[Fiona]

I've always rather liked Ganbatte (and ganbarimasu, which I've seen in similar contexts, though I'm hoping you can tell me whether it's right or wrong). That sense of, "do your best!" can be more encouraging in, say for example, exams. : )

[maki]

@Fiona - Ganbarimasu means 'I will try hard/do my best' - so it 's said by the person the ganbatte is aimed at.

@yoko - yep your mom is right I think - aren't they usually? :P

[chelle]

Apparently the phrase "break a leg" came from olden times when people used to throw money at actors on stage during a good performance (as opposed to vegetables for bad performances), thus causing the actors to bow when picking up the coins causing a 'break' in their leg line.

(:

[chelle]

Apparently the phrase "break a leg" came from olden times when people used to throw money at actors on stage during a good performance (as opposed to vegetables for bad performances), thus causing the actors to bow when picking up the coins causing a 'break' in their leg line.

(:

[t_i_n]

You can also say "Viel Erfolg!" ( good success or be successful or do well or get a good result) in German. Its emphasis isn't so much (if at all) at luck, and therefore I'd say it resembles "ganbatte". (One of my friends told me to rather wish "Viel Erfolg" instead of "Viel Glück" (Good luck) to her.

I don't say "Mach's gut" to someone who is doing a test or something similar, I only use "Mach's gut" (stay well) when saying goodbye and it's slightly similar to "Take care" (Pass auf dich auf).

[jez12]

I always associated 頑張って to "bon courage" in French. Which indicates to do an effort rather than rely on luck.

[Chris]

We have a saying in English for "do your best" which is "do your best"! =P

But yeah that was one of the things I noticed when learning Japanese. The difference between our luck and their hard work.

Though... Japanese also say 仕様がない "Shouganai" "It can't be helped". So much for "Ganbatte"!

[Panagiotes Koutelidakes]

A similar distinction exists in Greek; when somebody is making a wish for Luck to shine on somebody, so to speak, they say "Good luck!" ("Καλή τύχη!"), whereas it happens that they say "Good going/success!" ("Καλή επιτυχία!" - notice the root word "τύχη," luck) when there is a matter of success, the important bit here being that the word for success I mentioned (επιτυχία) is derived from επιτυγχάνω, the translation of which is, of course, "succeed."

Επιτυγχάνω carries with it the notion that success is partly a matter of luck and not skill. Interestingly, τυγχάνω has the meaning of "happen" in the unexpected sense, that of "happening across something," for that matter, in some circumstances...

As for "break a leg," the origin is still disputed, though the above two are the best-known candidates.

[Ai yi]

Hey in Mandarin we say "Jaiyou" alot meaning something along the lines of work hard. Also in Italian we say "In bocca a loupo" literally meaning in the mouth of the wolf! I mean, how does that even seem llike good luck but that is what it means! I love languages but they can be so strange.

[Cirvante]

I always thought that the German equivalent of "break a leg" (we say "Hals- und Beinbruch", which adds breaking your neck ^^) is meant to wish bad luck in order for the person to have good luck. So yeah, reverse luckology, I guess.

[Cecile]

Most french consider that saying "bonne chance" provides actually bad luck (yeah so strange). So we don't use "bonne chance" that much, it has been replaced by "grosse merde" (literally "big shit"). However, it can only be used in informal contexts.

:D

[Corey]

Break a leg is your reverse luckology. Its considered bad luck to wish that someone do well right before a show, so they would wish that you break a leg instead. This way they break the curse/bad luck and mean it to actually wish the person well.