chance

See also: Chance

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

chaunce (obsolete)

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /t͡ʃæns/
- (US, Canada) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɛəns], [t͡ʃʰeəns]
  - Audio (US) (file)
- (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰæns], [t͡ʃʰans]
- (General Australian) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰæːns]
IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɑːns/
- (Received Pronunciation, Cockney) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɑːns]
  - Audio (RP) (file)
  - Audio (UK) (file)
- (Cultivated Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰäːns], [t͡ʃʰɐːns]
- (Indian English) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃɑːns]
Rhymes: -ɑːns, -æns

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English chance, cheance, chaunce, cheaunce, a borrowing from Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadere (“to fall, to die, to happen, occur”). Doublet of cadence and cadenza.

Noun[edit]

chance (countable and uncountable, plural chances)

(countable) An opportunity or possibility.
We had the chance to meet the president last week.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
  Here was my chance. I took the old man aside, and two or three glasses of Old Crow launched him into reminiscence.
- 1965 March 15, Lyndon B. Johnson, 42:30 from the start, in Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise [on the Voting Rights Act], 3/15/65. MP506.‎^[1], Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum‎^[2]:
  It never even occurred to me in my fondest dreams that I might have the chance to help the sons and daughters of those students and to help people like them all over this country.
  But now I do have that chance, and I'll let you in on a secret: I mean to use it.
(uncountable) Random occurrence; luck.
Why leave it to chance when a few simple steps will secure the desired outcome?
(countable) The probability of something happening.
There is a 30 percent chance of rain tomorrow.
(in plural as chances) probability; possibility.
- 1908, Ernest Young, “Chapter 4 The children”, in Peeps at Many Lands: Siam, London: Adam and Charles Black, page 16:
  Sometimes the name is changed because it is thought to be unlucky. If "Chua" is ill, the chances are that there are certain spirits who do not like his name, so the parents alter his name to "Mee," or something else, and then he gets well again.
(countable, archaic) What befalls or happens to a person; their lot or fate.
- 1795, Robert Southey, The Soldier's Wife‎^[3]:
  Wild-visag'd Wanderer! ah for thy heavy chance!

Synonyms[edit]

(random occurrence): fortune, hap; see also Thesaurus:luck

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from the noun chance

Descendants[edit]

→ Japanese: チャンス

Translations[edit]

an opportunity or possibility

Albanian: nge (sq) f, shans m
Arabic: فُرْصَة f (furṣa)
Hijazi Arabic: فُرْصة f (furṣa)
Armenian: հնարավորություն (hy) (hnaravorutʻyun)
Azerbaijani: imkan (az), fürsət (az)
Bashkir: форсат (forsat)
Belarusian: шанс (šans), шанц m (šanc), магчы́масць f (mahčýmascʹ)
Breton: chañs (br) f
Bulgarian: възмо́жност (bg) f (vǎzmóžnost), шанс (bg) m (šans)
Burmese: အခွင့်အရေး (my) (a.hkwang.a.re:)
Catalan: oportunitat (ca) f
Chinese:
Cantonese: 機會／机会 (gei¹ wui⁶)

Hokkien: 機會／机会 (zh-min-nan) (ki-hōe)

Mandarin: 機會／机会 (zh) (jīhuì)
Czech: šance (cs) f, příležitost (cs) f
Danish: chance (da) c, mulighed (da) c
Dutch: kans (nl) f, gelegenheid (nl) f, mogelijkheid (nl) f
Esperanto: ŝanco
Estonian: võimalus
Finnish: mahdollisuus (fi)
French: chance (fr) f
Galician: oportunidade (gl) f
Georgian: შესაძლებლობა (šesaʒlebloba), შანსი (ka) (šansi)
German: Gelegenheit (de) f, Möglichkeit (de) f, Chance (de) f
Greek: ευκαιρία (el) f (efkairía), πιθανότητα (el) (pithanótita)
Hebrew: סִיכּוּי m (sikúi), מַזָּל (he) m (mazzál), הִזְדַּמְּנוּת פָּז f (hizdámnúth' paz)
Hindi: अवसर (hi) m (avsar), मौक़ा m (mauqā), चांस (hi) m (cāns), अवकाश (hi) m (avkāś)
Hungarian: alkalom (hu), lehetőség (hu)
Indonesian: kesempatan
Irish: faill f, seans m, amhantar 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), 機 (ja) (き, ki)
Kabuverdianu: txansa, xanse
Kazakh: мүмкіндік (mümkındık)
Khmer: ឱកាស (km) (ʼaokaah)
Korean: 기회(機會) (ko) (gihoe), 찬스 (ko) (chanseu)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: firset (ku)
Kyrgyz: мүмкүндүк (ky) (mümkündük)
Lao: ໂອກາດ (ʼō kāt)
Latin: opportunitas f, possibilitas f, potestas (la) f, aditus (la) m
Latvian: iespēja f
Lithuanian: próga f
Macedonian: шанса f (šansa), можност f (možnost)
Malay: peluang, kesempatan, cerlak, can (ms)
Malayalam: അവസരം (ml) (avasaraṁ)
Middle English: chaunce
Norwegian:
Bokmål: sjanse (no) m, mulighet (no) m or f
Occitan: oportunitat (oc) f, possibiltat f
Old English: ġegang m
Pashto: فرصت (ps) m (fersat)
Persian: فرصت (fa) (forsat), شانس (fa) (šâns)
Polish: szansa (pl) f, okazja (pl) f, gratka, możliwość (pl), sposobność (pl)
Portuguese: chance (pt) f
Romanian: șansă (ro) f, șanse (ro) f pl, ocazie (ro) f
Romansch: pussaivladad f (Rumantsch Grischun)
Russian: возмо́жность (ru) f (vozmóžnostʹ), шанс (ru) m (šans)
Scottish Gaelic: cothrom m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ша̏нса f, могу́ћно̄ст f

Roman: šȁnsa (sh) f, mogúćnōst f
Sinhalese: අවස්ථාව (awasthāwa)
Slovak: príležitosť f, šanca f
Slovene: priložnost (sl) f, šansa f
Spanish: oportunidad (es) f, posibilidad (es) f, chance (es) m or f
Swahili: nafasi (sw)
Swedish: chans (sv) c, möjlighet (sv) c
Tagalog: pagkakataon
Tajik: фурсат (fursat)
Tatar: форсат (tt) (forsat)
Telugu: అవకాశము (te) (avakāśamu)
Thai: โอกาส (th) (oo-gàat)
Turkish: şans (tr), talih (tr), fırsat (tr)
Turkmen: pursat
Ukrainian: шанс m (šans), можли́вість f (možlývistʹ)
Urdu: موقع m (mauqā)
Uyghur: پۇرسەت (purset)
Uzbek: imkoniyat (uz), fursat (uz)
Vietnamese: cơ hội (vi) (機會)
Volapük: mögod (vo)
West Frisian: kâns c
Zazaki: seğs m, sehud m, fırset m

random occurrence

Armenian: պատահականություն (hy) (patahakanutʻyun), դիպված (hy) (dipvac)
Basque: zori
Bulgarian: случа́йност (bg) f (slučájnost)
Catalan: atzar (ca) m, casualitat (ca) f
Czech: náhoda (cs) f
Danish: mulighed (da) c, tilfældighed c
Dutch: toeval (nl) n
Esperanto: hazardo (eo)
Finnish: sattuma (fi)
French: raccroc (fr) m
Georgian: შემთხვევა (šemtxveva)
German: Zufall (de) m
Greek: τύχη (el) f (týchi), σύμπτωση (el) f (sýmptosi), περίσταση (el) f (perístasi), συγκυρία (el) f (sygkyría)
Hebrew: מִקְרֶה (he) m (mikré), צֵרוּף מִקְרִים m (zeruf mikriem)
Hungarian: véletlen (hu)
Irish: seans m
Italian: caso (it) m
Kabuverdianu: txansa, xansa
Khmer: គ្រោះ (km) (krŭəh)
Korean: 우연(偶然) (ko) (uyeon)
Latin: temeritās f, accidentia f, fors f
Middle English: chaunce
Norwegian: mulighet (no), tilfeldigheter m pl
Occitan: escasença (oc) f
Old English: ġegang m
Ottoman Turkish: بخت (baht)
Portuguese: acaso (pt)
Romanian: întâmplare (ro) f, accident (ro) n
Russian: случа́йность (ru) f (slučájnostʹ)
Spanish: azar (es) m, suerte (es) f, casualidad (es) f
Swedish: slump (sv) c
Turkish: şans (tr), fırsat (tr), kaza (tr)

probability of something happening

Armenian: հավանականություն (hy) (havanakanutʻyun)
Bulgarian: вероя́тност (bg) f (verojátnost)
Catalan: probabilitat f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 幾率／几率 (zh) (jīlǜ)
Czech: šance (cs) f, pravděpodobnost (cs) f
Danish: chance (da) c, sandsynlighed c
Dutch: kans (nl) f
Finnish: mahdollisuus (fi), todennäköisyys (fi)
French: (beneficial) chance (fr) f, (detrimental, risky) risque (fr) m
Georgian: შემთხვევითობა (šemtxvevitoba)
German: Wahrscheinlichkeit (de) f
Greek: πιθανότητα (el) f (pithanótita), ενδεχόμενο (el) n (endechómeno)
Hindi: सम्भावना (hi) f (sambhāvnā)
Hungarian: valószínűség (hu), eshetőség (hu), esély (hu)
Icelandic: líkindi (is) n pl, líkur (is) f pl
Irish: seans m
Italian: probabilità (it) f
Kabuverdianu: txansa, xanse
Latin: accidentia, accidentia, probabilitas, fors f
Malayalam: സാധ്യത (ml) (sādhyata)
Maori: tūponotanga
Norwegian: sjanse (no) m, sannsynlighet (no) m
Portuguese: probabilidade (pt)
Romanian: probabilitate (ro) f
Russian: вероя́тность (ru) f (verojátnostʹ), шанс (ru) m (šans)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: могу́ћно̄ст f, ша̏нса f

Roman: mogúćnōst f, šȁnsa (sh) f
Spanish: probabilidad (es) f
Swedish: chans (sv) c, sannolikhet (sv) c
Turkish: şans (tr), ihtimal (tr), olanak (tr)

lot or fate

Bulgarian: шанс (bg) m (šans)
German: Los (de) n, Schicksal (de) n
Middle English: chaunce
Ottoman Turkish: بخت (baht)
Spanish: albur (es) m
Turkish: talih (tr), baht (tr), kader (tr), kısmet (tr)
Zazaki: beğt c, qeder m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Georgian: ^{(please verify)} შემთხვევა (šemtxveva)

Adjective[edit]

chance (not comparable)

Happening by chance, casual.
- 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:
  No crowd was about the door; no people were discernible at any of the many windows; not even a chance passer-by was in the street. An unnatural silence and desertion reigned there.
- 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter II, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
  Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experiences he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours' relaxation or to while away the tedium of a journey.

Translations[edit]

happening by chance

Bashkir: осраҡлы (osraqlı)
Bulgarian: случаен (bg) (slučaen)
Danish: tilfældigvis c
German: zufällig (de)
Hungarian: véletlen (hu), kósza (hu), arra vetődött
Latin: fortuītus
Swedish: tillfällig (sv), oförutsedd (sv), opåräknad, förlupen (sv), slumpartad (sv), händelsevis (sv) påträffad

Adverb[edit]

chance (not comparable)

(obsolete) Perchance; perhaps.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English chancen, chauncen, from the noun (see above).

Verb[edit]

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

(archaic, intransitive) To happen by chance, to occur.
It chanced that I found a solution the very next day.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 22:6:
  if a bird's nest chance to be before thee
- 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. XV, Practical — Devotional”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk):
  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 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter XVIII, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC:
  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."
(archaic, transitive) To befall; to happen to.
- 1826, William Lambarde, A Perambulation of Kent:
  […] while the King and Godwine sate at the table, accompanied with others of the nobilitie, it chanced the cupbearer (as he brought wine to the bourd) to slip with the one foote, and yet by good strength of his other leg, to recover himselfe without falling […]
To try or risk.
Shall we carry the umbrella, or chance a rainstorm?
- 1890, William Dean Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes:
  He does chance it in stocks, but he's always played on the square, if you call stocks gambling.
To discover something by chance.
He chanced upon a kindly stranger who showed him the way.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
  I chanced on this letter.
(Belize) To rob, cheat or swindle someone.
The car broke down a week after I bought it. I was chanced by that fast-talking salesman.
- 2017 March 22, Jules Vasquez, “Shyne Urges Artists To Protest Against Businesses Countrywide”, in 7 News Belize‎^[4]:
  Be prepared to engage in protests of all businesses nationwide who are violating the copyright act and chancing our members.
(Nigeria) To take an opportunity from someone; to cut a queue.

Synonyms[edit]

(to happen) come to pass, occur, transpire; See also Thesaurus:happen
(to happen to)
(to try) test
(to discover something) come across, come on, come upon, encounter, stumble upon
(to cheat someone) deceive, fool, trick; See also Thesaurus:deceive

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

to try or risk

Bulgarian: рискувам (bg) (riskuvam)
Catalan: arriscar-se (ca)
Danish: ta chancen, risikere (da)
Dutch: wagen (nl)
Finnish: ottaa riski
German: riskieren (de), wagen (de)
Hungarian: megkockáztat (hu)
Romanian: risca (ro)
Swahili: nafasi (sw)
Swedish: chansa (sv), riskera (sv)
Turkish: riske etmek

to discover by chance

Bulgarian: попадам на (popadam na)
Czech: narazit (cs)
Danish: støde på (ved en tilfældighed)
Finnish: löytää sattumalta, kohdata sattumalta, tavata sattumalta
Hungarian: rábukkan (hu), ráakad (hu), belebotlik (hu)
Maori: tūpono, matawhaia
Swahili: nafasi (sw)
Swedish: råka (sv)

References[edit]

“chance”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “chance”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams[edit]

Canche

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): [ˈɕɑŋsə]

Noun[edit]

chance c (singular definite chancen, plural indefinite chancer)

A chance

Antonyms[edit]

risiko

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Old French cheance (“accident, chance, luck”), from Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadēns, from cadō (“fall”). Doublet of cadence, a borrowing from Italian.

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /ʃɑ̃s/
Audio (FR) (file)
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Noun[edit]

chance f (plural chances)

chance
Il y a des fortes chances que vos neurones fonctionnent bien
There's every chance your neurons are working well
luck

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

choir

Descendants[edit]

Descendants

→ Breton: chañs
→ Bulgarian: шанс (šans)
→ Czech: šance
→ Danish: chance
→ Dutch: sjans
→ German: Chance
→ Esperanto: ŝanco
→ Estonian: šanss
→ Persian: شانس (šâns)
→ Irish: seans
→ Ido: chanco
→ Italian: chance
→ Norwegian: sjanse
→ Polish: szansa
→ Portuguese: chance
→ Luxembourgish: kans
→ Romanian: șansă
→ Russian: шанс (šans)
→ Serbo‐Croatian: šansa, шанса
→ Spanish: chance
→ Swedish: chans, chansa
→ Turkish: şans

Italian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

scians

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French chance. Doublet of cadenza.

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): ^*/ˈʃans/
Rhymes: -ans

Noun[edit]

chance f (invariable)

chance (possibility of a certain outcome)

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

chance

Alternative form of chaunce

Old French[edit]

Noun[edit]

chance oblique singular, f (oblique plural chances, nominative singular chance, nominative plural chances)

Alternative form of cheance

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French chance.^[1]^[2] Doublet of cadência.

Pronunciation[edit]

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɐ̃.si/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɐ̃.se/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɐ̃.sɨ/
- (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɐ̃.sɨ/

Hyphenation: chan‧ce

Noun[edit]

chance f (plural chances)

probability
chance, opportunity
Synonym: oportunidade

References[edit]

^ “chance” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
^ “chance” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French chance or, in Mexico, from English chance. Doublet of cadencia.

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): (Spain) /ˈt͡ʃanθe/ [ˈt͡ʃãn̟.θe]
IPA^(key): (Latin America) /ˈt͡ʃanse/ [ˈt͡ʃãn.se]
(Spain) Rhymes: -anθe
(Latin America) Rhymes: -anse
Syllabification: chan‧ce

Noun[edit]

chance m or f same meaning (plural chances)

chance

Conjunction[edit]

chance

(Mexico) maybe, perchance, perhaps or possibly
Synonyms: a lo mejor, quizá, quizás, tal vez

chance

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Noun[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adverb[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Italian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

Old French[edit]

Noun[edit]

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

References[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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