chance

See also Chance

English

Alternative forms

• chaunce (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /tʃɑːns/
• (US) IPA: /tʃæns/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːns
• Rhymes: -æns

Etymology

From Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadō (“I fall, I die”). See also cadence, from the same Latin root.

Noun

chance (plural chances)

1. (countable) An opportunity or possibility.

   We have the chance

2. (uncountable) Random occurrence; luck.

   Why leave it to chance when a few simple steps will secure the desired outcome?

3. (countable) The probability of something happening.

   There is a 30% chance of rain tomorrow.

Derived terms

Terms derived from the noun "chance"

Buckley's chance by chance chance'd be a fine thing chance fracture chance-medley chancer chances are chancy Chinaman's chance dog's chance even chance fair chance fat chance fighting chance first-chance exception game of chance

half a chance happy chance in with a chance jump at the chance last chance last chance saloon main chance mum chance not a chance off chance/off-chance outside chance perchance slim chance smart chance snowball's chance snowball's chance in hell sporting chance stand a chance

Translations

an opportunity or possibility

• Arabic: فرصة (ar) (fúrṣa) f

  Egyptian Arabic: فرصة (fúrṣa) f

• Armenian: հնարավորություն (hy) (hnaravorut’tyun)
• Bulgarian: възможност (bg) (vǎzmóžnost) f, вероятност (bg) (verojátnost) f
• Catalan: oportunitat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 機會 (cmn), 机会 (cmn) (jīhuì)

• Czech: šance (cs) f
• Dutch: kans (nl) f, gelegenheid (nl) f, mogelijkheid (nl) f
• Esperanto: ŝanco (eo)
• Estonian: võimalus (et)
• Finnish: mahdollisuus (fi)
• French: chance (fr) f
• Galician: oportunidade (gl) f
• German: Gelegenheit (de) f, Möglichkeit (de) f, Chance (de) f
• Greek: ευκαιρία (el) (efkairía) f, πιθανότητα (el) (pithanótita)
• Hebrew: סיכוי (he) (sikui) m
• Hungarian: alkalom (hu), lehetőség (hu)
• Indonesian: kesempatan
• Irish: faill (ga) f, seans (ga) m
• Italian: possibilità (it) f, opportunità (it) f, chance (it) f
• Japanese: 機会 (ja) (きかい, kikai), チャンス (ja) (chansu)
• Korean: 기회 (ko) (gihoe) (機會 (ko))

• Latin: opportunitas (la) f, possibilitas (la) f, potestas (la) f
• Malay: peluang (ms), kesempatan (ms), cerlak (ms), can (ms)
• Norwegian: sjanse (no) m, mulighet (no) m
• Novial: chanse
• Persian: فرصت (fa) (forsat)
• Polish: szansa (pl) f, okazja (pl) f
• Portuguese: chance (pt) f
• Romanian: șansă (ro) f, șanse (ro) f pl, ocazie (ro) f
• Russian: возможность (ru) (vozmóžnostʹ) f, шанс (ru) (šans) m
• Scottish Gaelic: cothrom (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шанса (sh) f, могућност (sh) f

  Roman: šansa (sh) f, mogućnost (sh) f

• Slovene: priložnost (sl) f
• Spanish: oportunidad (es) f, posibilidad (es) f
• Swahili: nafasi (sw)
• Swedish: chans (sv) c
• Telugu: అవకాశము (te)
• Turkish: şans (tr), talih (tr)
• Vietnamese: cơ hội (vi) (機會 (vi))
• Volapük: mögod (vo)

random occurrence

• Armenian: պատահականություն (hy) (patahakanut’yun), դիպված (hy) (dipvaç)
• Basque: zori (eu)
• Bulgarian: случайност (bg) (slučájnost) f
• Czech: náhoda (cs) f
• Dutch: toeval (nl) n
• Finnish: sattuma (fi)
• French: raccroc (fr) m
• German: Zufall (de) m
• Greek: τύχη (el) (týchi) f, σύμπτωση (el) (sýmptosi) f, περίσταση (el) (perístasi) f, συγκυρία (el) (sygkyría) f

• Hebrew: מקרה (he) (miqre) m
• Hungarian: véletlen (hu)
• Irish: seans (ga) m
• Latin: accidentia (la), fors (la)
• Norwegian: mulighet (no), tilfeldigheter (no) m pl
• Portuguese: acaso (pt)
• Russian: случайность (ru) (slučájnostʹ) f
• Spanish: azar (es) m, suerte (es) f
• Swedish: slump (sv) c

probability of something happening

• Armenian: հավանականություն (hy) (havanakanut’yun)
• Bulgarian: вероятност (bg) (verojátnost) f
• Czech: šance (cs) f
• Dutch: kans (nl) f
• Finnish: mahdollisuus (fi), todennäköisyys (fi)
• French: (beneficial) chance (fr) f, (detrimental, risky) risque (fr) m
• German: Wahrscheinlichkeit (de) f
• Greek: πιθανότητα (el) (pithanótita) f, ενδεχόμενο (el) (endechómeno) n
• Hungarian: valószínűség (hu), eshetőség (hu), esély (hu)
• Irish: seans (ga) m

• Italian: probabilità (it) f
• Latin: accidentia (la), accidentia (la), probabilitas (la), fors (la) f
• Norwegian: sjanse (no) m, sannsynlighet (no) m
• Portuguese: probabilidade (pt)
• Russian: вероятность (ru) (verojátnostʹ) f, шанс (ru) (šans) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: могућност (sh) f, шанса (sh) f

  Roman: mogućnost (sh) f, šansa (sh) f

• Spanish: probabilidad (es) f
• Swedish: chans (sv) c, sannolikhet (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Georgian: შემთხვევა (ka) (šemt'xveva)

Verb

chance (third-person singular simple present chances, present participle chancing, simple past and past participle chanced)

1. (archaic, intransitive) To happen by chance, to occur.

   It chanced that I found a solution the very next day.

   • 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. XV, Practical — Devotional

     Once […] it chanced that Geoffrey Riddell Bishop of Ely, a Prelate rather troublesome to our Abbot, made a request of him for timber from his woods towards certain edifices going on at Glemsford.

   • 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter XVIII

     Mr. Mason, shivering as some one chanced to open the door, asked for more coal to be put on the fire, which had burnt out its flame, though its mass of cinder still shone hot and red. The footman who brought the coal, in going out, stopped near Mr. Eshton's chair, and said something to him in a low voice, of which I heard only the words, "old woman,"—"quite troublesome."

2. To try or risk.

   Shall we carry the umbrella, or chance it?

3. To discover something by chance.

   He chanced upon a kindly stranger who showed him the way.

Derived terms

• chance on
• chance upon

Translations

to try or risk

• Bulgarian: рискувам (bg) (riskuvam)
• Dutch: wagen (nl)
• Finnish: ottaa riski

• Romanian: risca (ro)
• Swahili: nafasi (sw)
• Swedish: chansa (sv), riskera (sv)

to discover by chance

• Bulgarian: попадам на (bg) (popadam na)
• Czech: narazit (cs)
• Finnish: löytää/kohdata/tavata sattumalta

• Maori: tūpono (mi)
• Swahili: nafasi (sw)
• Swedish: råka (sv)

Adjective

chance (comparative more chance, superlative most chance)

1. (rare) Happening by chance, casual.

References

• chance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “chance” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: filled · visit · follow · #639: chance · happened · broken · trouble

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Danish

Etymology

From French chance, from Vulgar Latin cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadō (“I fall, I die”).

Noun

chance c (singular definite chancen, plural indefinite chancer)

1. A chance

Antonyms

• risiko

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃɑ̃s/

• Audio (FR)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Etymology

From Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadō (“I fall, I die”). Doublet of cadence, borrowed from Italian.

Noun

chance f (plural chances)

1. chance
2. luck

Antonyms

• adversité
• guigne (familiar)
• malchance
• malheur

Related terms

• avoir de la chance
• chanceux
• malchanceux

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Italian

Etymology

From French chance

Noun

chance f (invariable)

1. chance (possibility of a certain outcome)

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Portuguese

Etymology

From French chance.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA: /ˈʃɐ̃sɨ/

Noun

chance (plural chances)

1. Probability
2. chance, opportunity.

Related terms

• sem chance

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Spanish

Etymology

From French chance.

Noun

chance f (plural chances)

1. chance