chance

See also: Chance

English

Alternative forms

• chaunce (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃæns/
  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɛəns], [t͡ʃʰeəns]

    • Audio (US):

      (file)

  • (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰæns], [t͡ʃʰans]
  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰæːns], [t͡ʃʰɛːns]
• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɑːns/
  • (Received Pronunciation, Cockney) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰɑːns]

    • Audio (Received Pronunciation):

      (file)

    • Audio (UK):

      (file)

  • (Cultivated Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃʰäːns], [t͡ʃʰɐːns]
  • (India) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃɑːns]
• Rhymes: -ɑːns, -æns

Etymology 1

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

chance (countable and uncountable, plural chances)

1. (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.

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 percent chance of rain tomorrow.

4. (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.

5. (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

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

Derived terms

Terms derived from the noun chance

• bechance (adverb)
• blow one's chance
• Buckley's chance
• by any chance
• by chance
• cat in hell's chance
• chanceable
• chance acquaintance
• chance card
• chance'd be a fine thing
• chance fracture
• chanceful
• chanceless
• chancely
• chance-medley
• chancer
• chances are
• chance the ducks
• chancewise
• chance would be a fine thing
• chancy
• Chinaman's chance
• Come By Chance
• dog's chance
• even chance
• fair chance
• fat chance
• fighting chance
• first-chance exception
• game of chance
• half a chance
• half-chance
• happenchance
• happy chance
• in with a chance
• jump at the chance
• last chance
• last chance saloon
• leave to chance
• main chance
• mum chance
• no chance
• not a chance
• off chance/off-chance
• on the off chance
• outside chance
• overchance
• perchance
• second chance
• shutter chance
• slim chance
• smart chance
• snowball's chance
• snowball's chance in heck
• snowball's chance in hell
• snowflake's chance in hell
• sporting chance
• stand a chance
• take a chance
• take one's chance
• unchance
• wanchance

 

Descendants

• → Icelandic: séns
• → Japanese: チャンス

Translations

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 (mk) f (šansa), можност f (možnost)
• Malay: peluang, kesempatan, cerlak, can (ms)
• Malayalam: അവസരം (ml) (avasaraṁ)
• Manchu: ᠨᠠᠰᡥᡡᠨ (nashūn)
• 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, chanza (es) f (Latin America)
• 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, hasard (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), hipótese (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

chance (not comparable)

1. 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

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 (la)
• Swedish: tillfällig (sv), oförutsedd (sv), opåräknad, förlupen (sv), slumpartad (sv), händelsevis (sv) påträffad

Adverb

chance (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Perchance; perhaps.

Etymology 2

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

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.

   • 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. […], volume (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."

2. (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 […]

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. (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.

6. (Nigeria) To take an opportunity from someone; to cut a queue.

Synonyms

• (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

• bechance
• chance on
• chance one's arm
• chance upon
• unchanced

Translations

to try or risk

• Bulgarian: рискувам (bg) (riskuvam)
• Catalan: arriscar-se (ca)
• Danish: ta chancen, risikere (da)
• Dutch: wagen (nl)
• Esperanto: hazardi (eo)
• 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

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

Anagrams

• chacne, canche, Canche

Danish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈɕɑŋsə]

Noun

chance c (singular definite chancen, plural indefinite chancer)

1. A chance

Antonyms

• risiko

Franco-Provençal

Alternative forms

• chonse, chanse, sha͟nche, sha͟ncha (Bressan)
• tsanthe (Fribourgeois)

Etymology

Borrowed from French chance, from Vulgar Latin *cadentia. Doublet of chenci.

Noun

chance f (plural chances) (ORB, broad)

1. chance, luck

Derived terms

• chanciox

References

• chance in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• chance in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Further information

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “cadĕre”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 2: C Q K, page 27

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɑ̃s/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Noun

chance f (plural chances)

1. chance

   Il y a des fortes chances que vos neurones fonctionnent bien

   There's every chance your neurons are working well

2. luck

Antonyms

• adversité
• guigne (familiar)
• malchance
• malheur

Derived terms

• au petit bonheur la chance
• avoir de la chance
• bonne chance
• chance de cocu
• chanceux
• coup de chance
• égalité des chances
• la faute à pas de chance
• malchanceux
• mettre toutes les chances de son côté
• par chance

 

Related terms

• choir

Descendants

Descendants

• → Breton: chañs
• → Bulgarian: шанс (šans)
• → Czech: šance
• → Danish: chance
• → Dutch: sjans
• → Franco-Provençal: chance
• → 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

Further reading

• “chance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Alternative forms

• scians

Etymology

Borrowed from French chance. Doublet of cadenza.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): ^*/ˈʃans/
• Rhymes: -ans

Noun

chance f (invariable)

1. chance (possibility of a certain outcome)

Middle English

Noun

chance

1. Alternative form of chaunce

Old French

Noun

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

1. Alternative form of cheance

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from French chance. Doublet of cadência.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɐ̃.si/

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

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɐ̃.sɨ/

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

• Hyphenation: chan‧ce

Noun

chance f (plural chances)

1. probability
2. chance, opportunity

   Synonym: oportunidade

Spanish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

chance m or f same meaning (plural chances)

1. chance
2. (colloquial, Guatemala, El Salvador) a job; a position; a post of employment

   Juan dice que hay un chance en su empresa.

   Juan says there's a position at his company.

Derived terms

• dar chance

 

Conjunction

chance

1. (Mexico) maybe, perchance, perhaps or possibly

   Synonyms: a lo mejor, quizá, quizás, tal vez

Further reading

• “chance”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10