When (and How) to Use ‘Wish You All the Best’
You’re looking for a way to end a letter with a warm—but not overly warm—closing. You want to let your friend know, as she sets out on a new adventure, that you hope she has the best possible experience.
You might sign your letter with a friendly send-off: "Wish you all the best."
But when else is it suitable to use this sign-off? And how do you know when this closing is better than using "Warm regards" or another similar phrase?
First, let’s examine the root of this closing: the longer, complete sentence, "I wish you all the best of luck."
Distinguishing Between ‘All the Best’ and ‘Best of Luck’
In the spirit of brevity, the sign-off, "I wish you all the best of luck," has been shortened to two distinct closings that we now use interchangeably:
• "All the best"
• "Best of luck"
While "All the best" may seem like a generic, farewell closing and "Best of luck" might refer to something more specific, it’s unlikely anyone would find fault with either phrase. Both are merely ellipses of the longer sentence that unites the two:
• I wish you all the best of luck.
• I wish you all the best of luck.
So, What’s the Best Context to Use the Phrase?
Since "Wish you all the best" can work in a variety of ways—shorter or longer, formally or informally—it's up to you to determine if it’s the right closing for your letter.
When weighing your options, you can also look at this list of common closings, ranging from very warm to very formal .
• Affectionately yours,
• Warmly,
• Warm regards,
• Warm wishes,
• Best wishes,
• With thanks,
• Kind regards,
• Best regards,
• Sincerely,
• Respectfully,
As you can see, "Wish you all the best" combines two of the closings near the middle of this list, making it a great compromise of formal and warm.
Here are some common scenarios when "Wish you all the best" is appropriate:
• When your neighbor is graduating from dental school
• When your colleague is leaving your company for a new position
• When your college roommate gets married
As long as you are wishing your recipient the best in their future, it’s acceptable to use the phrase both as a universal sendoff and as a more personalized ending.
No matter which sendoff you go for, your closing should reflect your writing style, relationship with the recipient and, of course, the content of your letter.
"Good luck, have fun" is something you may have heard on your way out the door, leaving home. But now it's also the title of bbno$ and lentra's new collaborative album. Marked by percussion pockets, 808s and catchy cadences, good luck have fun is the perfect dose of lyrical levity and heavy, hard-hitting rhythms.
bbno$'s timely movement through, in between, and all around lentra's beats is a testament to the use of vocals as an added instrument working in tandem with the production. The album features various styles from "jack money bean" and "mahogany," which embody smooth trap, to "feeling good," a standout punk cut. Some songs, like "mememe" have a Pharell or The Neptunes production vibe, while others like "imma" are driven by a house groove. We even hear bbno$ flexing his vocal chops in the melodic tune, "man in the mirror."
Listening to the good luck have fun is a reminder of the playfulness of life. Sometimes it's best to not take things so seriously, be present and "have fun" with it. You certainly will, while listening to this album.
Listen to good luck have fun below:
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• The phrase good luck is used to express "wishes for somebody’s success."
• One formal way of saying good luck is best of luck with your future endeavors
• A casual way of saying good luck is you got this!
When To Use the Phrase "Good Luck"
Think about all the different occasions you might have to tell someone good luck. You might find yourself saying this if someone you know is interviewing for a new job, playing in a championship game, getting married, having a baby, going on a trip, buying a house, switching jobs… and the list goes on and on.
That’s why it’s a good idea to expand your vocabulary and learn different ways of saying good luck. Below, we’ll give you three formal and four casual alternatives to good luck (plus examples).
Good luck—you can say it or you can sing it.Formal Ways of Saying "Good Luck"
The following alternatives to good luck are perfect for professional or academic settings.
Best of luck with your future endeavors.
I heard you got a position at the XYZ Company! Best of luck with your future endeavors
I wish you the best.
Thomas told me you’re relocating to the San Antonio campus. I wish you the best
Best of luck.
I know your interview for the promotion is today. Best of luck!
Casual Ways of Saying "Good Luck"
These casual synonyms for good luck are perfect for people you know on a more personal basis.
Break a leg!
I know you’re going to do great at tonight’s play. Break a leg!
Fingers crossed.
I hope your offer goes through. Fingers crossed
You got this.
You'll do great in the championship match. You got this.
I hope you do well.
I hope you do well on the exam.
Farewell and Good Luck
Now you have a few synonyms for good luck in your back pocket. Knowing alternatives to common phrases like good luck and you’re welcome is a great way to strengthen your conversational skills in English.
Additionally, knowing alternatives to wordy phrases helps keep your writing clear and concise. LanguageTool—a multilingual text editor—can help by offering different options. This superior spelling and grammar checker can also check for all types of errors in more than twenty languages. You can try it for free here.
Good luck with your writing!
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祝你好运 / 祝你好运啊
pinyin. zhù nǐ hǎo yùn / zhù nǐ hǎo yùn 'a – literal. wish you good luck liberal. good luck
好好儿干啊
pinyin. hǎo hǎor gàn 'a – literal. well to work liberal. do your best (for this job)
In Chinese 干 has the meaning of "to do", 好好儿干 means "to do it well". We can use this expression to encourage someone to do a good job.
好好儿考啊
pinyin. hǎo hǎor kǎo 'a – literal. well take exam liberal. do your best (for this exam)
Just like 好好儿干, we can also use 好好儿考 to encourage someone. Since 考 means "to take exam", we can say 好好儿考 to wish someone good luck in an exam.
加油
pinyin. jiā yóu – literal. add oil liberal. c'mon
加油 is a very well-known Chinese phrase. It literally means "add oil", but is used to encourage someone before they do a task, give a speech, participate in a competition or take a exam...
我给你加油
pinyin. wǒ gěi nǐ jiā yóu – literal. i for you add oil liberal.I'm rooting for you
Instead of 我给你加油 we can also say 我为你加油.
祝你成功
pinyin. zhù nǐ chéng gōng – literal. wish you success liberal. wish you success
祝你成功 literally means wish you success in Chinese. This expression does not specify "wish you success 'in what field' or'on what aspect'", so it's okay to say for a lot of situations, a very common expression of how to say good luck in Chinese.
你一定会成功的 / 你肯定会成功的
pinyin. nǐ yí dìng huì chéng gōng de / nǐ kěn dìng huì chéng gōng de – literal. you definitely will succeed liberal. You'll definitely succeed
If you want someone to know that you believe in them 100%, instead of 祝你成功, you can say 你一定会成功的 or 你肯定会成功的. 一定 and 肯定 are two adverbs that emphasize affirmativeness. They can be translated as "undoubtedly", "definitely", "surely" or "certainly"...
祝你顺利
pinyin. zhù nǐ shùn lì – literal. wish you smooth liberal. I hope everything goes well
In Chinese 顺利 means for something or someone to go smoothly. Say 祝你顺利 when you want to wish someone everything goes well in Chinese.
祝你考试顺利
pinyin. zhù nǐ kǎo shì shùn lì – literal. wish you exam smooth liberal. I hope your test goes well
Since 祝你顺利 does not specify "which aspect" or "what field" you wish them to go smoothly, you can say 祝你考试顺利 to wish someone good luck in Chinese with their exam.
祝你工作顺利
pinyin. zhù nǐ gōng zuò shùn lì – literal. wish you work smooth liberal. I hope everything goes well with your work
And if you want to wish someone good luck in Chinese with their work, you can say 祝你工作顺利.
祝你马到成功
pinyin. zhù nǐ mǎ dào chéng gōng – literal. wish you "horse-arriving" success liberal. wishing you rapid success
马到成功 is a Chinese Idiom, 成语 chéngyǔ, it means "to get instant success". In the ancient time, armies rode horses to battle with the other side, so 马到成功 implies that "as soon as our horses get there, we have our success(victory)".
我相信你
pinyin. wǒ xiāng xìn nǐ – literal. I trust you liberal. I believe in you
Nothing encourages people more than one simple expression "I believe in you". In Chinese you can say 我相信你 to show your confidence in someone.
我支持你
pinyin. wǒ zhī chí nǐ – literal. I support you liberal. I support you
我支持你 means you will support someone on their decision and their work.
没成功别回来见我
pinyin. méi chéng gōng bié huí lái jiàn wǒ – literal. haven't succeeded, don't come back to see me liberal. don't come back if you didn't succeed
没成功别来见我 is a special one. You only say this to someone VERY close to you. This is not a threat, just to show that you know how much it means and how long it might take for them to succeed. And you also know that when you meet them again, it's probably when they succeed and come back.
Do you know some other useful ways of how to say good luck in Chinese?
Did you know that there are more than 15 ways to say "good luck" in Spanish? But why so many different ways?
Remember, there are 21 Spanish-speaking countries in the world. Each country has its own regional vocabulary and slang. That includes all the ways of wishing people well.
Even if you aren't superstitious, saying “good luck” is a nice way to show support to your family and friends. You don’t have to know every possible phrase. Learning the most common Spanish expressions for good luck will do the trick. Let's look at five ways to say “good luck” in Spanish.
• How do you say "good luck" in Spanish?
• 5 Expressions to say "good luck" in Spanish
• "Good luck" in Spanish slang
How do you say "good luck" in Spanish?
If you’re learning Spanish, these expressions will come in handy. Here are some of the most used phrases to say "good luck" in Spanish.
English
Spanish
Good luck!
¡Buena suerte!
A lot of luck!
¡Mucha suerte!
Good luck with everything!
¡Suerte con todo!
Success!
¡Éxito!
I hope everything goes well!
¡Que te vaya bien!
I wish you the best in this world!
¡Te deseo lo mejor del mundo!
Best wishes!
¡Mis mejores deseos!
Best of luck!
¡Te deseo la mejor de las suertes!
God bless you!
¡Que dios te bendiga!
5 Expressions to say good luck in Spanish
Have you heard the song Lucky/Suerte by Jason Mraz? It features Mexican singer-songwriter Ximena Sariñana Rivera on the Spanish-language chorus. The lyrics talk about good luck situations in Spanish. Here are the top five most common ways to wish buena suerte or "good luck" in Spanish.
1. ¡Suerte! (Luck!)
This is your everyday, basic phrase of saying "good luck." You can use it in any Spanish-speaking country in both formal and informal situations. It covers pretty much everything. Going on vacation? – ¡Suerte! Taking a test? – ¡Suerte!
• Me voy a Argentina a estudiar español. (I’m going to Argentina to study Spanish.)
• ¡Suerte, Sam! (Good luck, Sam!)
2. ¡La mejor de las suertes! (Best of luck!)
• ¡La mejor de las suertes en tu nuevo trabajo, Dani! (Best of luck in your new job, Dani!)
3. ¡Éxito! (Success!)
This way of saying “best of luck” directly translates to wishing success for the other person. Bear in mind, éxito has a strong connotation related to winning, triumph and prosperity. Use it when wishing luck for an important life situation.
• ¡Éxito en tu nuevo puesto! (Best of luck in your new job position!)
4. ¡Que te vaya bien! (Good luck!)
If you’re looking for a casual expression to say good luck, this one is fairly popular in conversational Spanish. This phrase can also be used as a casual way to say “have a good day.” To specify good luck, make sure the context is clear by saying what you are wishing them luck in.
• ¡Que te vaya bien en tu reunión, mi amor! (Good luck in your meeting, my love!)
• ¿Ya te vas? ¡Que te vaya bien! (Are you leaving? Bye! Have a good day!)
5. ¡Cruzaré los dedos por ti! (Fingers crossed for you!)
This expression is very common in Spanish, especially with close friends and family. In order to use this expression properly, you must conjugate the verb cruzar.
• Cruzaré los dedos para que no pierdas el vuelo. (I will cross my fingers so you won’t miss your flight.)
"Good luck" in Spanish slang
Spain
The phrase ¡Mucha mierda! literally translates to "lots of crap." It’s roughly the equivalent of "break a leg" in English. Still not clear? Here’s an example:
• Hoy es el concurso de fotografía. (Today is my photography competition.)
• ¡Mucha mierda! (Break a leg!)
México
A Mexican Spanish speaker will most likely say hacer changuitos instead of ‘cruzar los dedos’ for the expression "fingers crossed." Although both phrases mean the same action, this is the phrase used widely in Mexico.
• Mañana es mi prueba de manejo, ¡hagan changuitos! (Tomorrow is my driving test. Cross your (plural) fingers!)
Puerto Rico
¡Dale duro! (Hit it hard!) is what you might hear from a Puerto Rican when wishing you good luck. This expression is a combination of "good luck" and "do your very best".
• Voy a abrir un nuevo restaurante. (I’m going to open a new restaurant.)
• ¡Dale duro! Vas a ser muy exitoso. (Good luck! You’ll be very successful.)
Saying your well wishes in Spanish
Now you know how to say "good luck" in Spanish. Which way are you going to try first? You can choose from common and standard phrases to the more colorful slang versions. Add them to your vocabulary and start practicing. ¡Suerte!
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Background
John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, delivered this speech for the Commencement Address at Cardigan, his son's high school, on June 3, 2022.
Speech Transcript
Rain, somebody said, is like confetti from heaven. So even the heavens are celebrating this morning, joining the rest of us at this wonderful commencement ceremony.
Before we go any further, graduates, you have an important task to perform because behind you are your parents and guardians. Two or three or four years ago, they drove into Cardigan, dropped you off, helped you get settled and then turned around and drove back out the gates. It was an extraordinary sacrifice for them. They drove down the trail of tears back to an emptier and lonelier house. They did that because the decision about your education, they knew, was about you. It was not about them. That sacrifice and others they made have brought you to this point. But this morning is not just about you. It is also about them, so I hope you will stand up and turn around and give them a great round of applause. Please.
Now when somebody asks me how the remarks at Cardigan went, I will be able to say they were interrupted by applause.
Congratulations, class of 2022. You’ve reached an important milestone. An important stage of your life is behind you. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you it is the easiest stage of your life, but it is in the books. While you’ve been at Cardigan, you have all been a part of an important international community as well. And I think that needs to be particularly recognized.
(At this time, Roberts gave brief remarks in other languages.)
Now around the country today at colleges, high schools, middle schools, commencement speakers are standing before impatient graduates. And they are almost always saying the same things. They will say that today is a commencement exercise. ‘It is a beginning, not an end. You should look forward.’ And I think that is true enough, however, I think if you’re going to look forward to figure out where you’re going, it’s good to know where you’ve been and to look back as well. And I think if you look back to your first afternoon here at Cardigan, perhaps you will recall that you were lonely. Perhaps you will recall that you were a little scared, a little anxious. And now look at you. You are surrounded by friends that you call brothers, and you are confident in facing the next step in your education.
It is worth trying to think why that is so. And when you do, I think you may appreciate that it was because of the support of your classmates in the classroom, on the athletic field and in the dorms.
And as far as the confidence goes, I think you will appreciate that it is not because you succeeded at everything you did, but because with the help of your friends, you were not afraid to fail. And if you did fail, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, it might be time to think about doing something else. But it was not just success, but not being afraid to fail that brought you to this point.
Now the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you. I will not do that, and I’ll tell you why. From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.
Now commencement speakers are also expected to give some advice. They give grand advice, and they give some useful tips. The most common grand advice they give is for you to be yourself. It is an odd piece of advice to give people dressed identically, but you should—you should be yourself. But you should understand what that means. Unless you are perfect, it does not mean don’t make any changes. In a certain sense, you should not be yourself. You should try to become something better. People say ‘be yourself’ because they want you to resist the impulse to conform to what others want you to be. But you can’t be yourself if you don’t learn who are, and you can’t learn who you are unless you think about it.
The Greek philosopher Socrates said, ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ And while ‘just do it’ might be a good motto for some things, it’s not a good motto when it’s trying to figure out how to live your life that is before you. And one important clue to living a good life is to not to try to live the good life. The best way to lose the values that are central to who you are is frankly not to think about them at all.
So that’s the deep advice. Now some tips as you get ready to go to your new school. Other the last couple of years, I have gotten to know many of you young men pretty well, and I know you are good guys. But you are also privileged young men. And if you weren’t privileged when you came here, you are privileged now because you have been here. My advice is: Don’t act like it.
When you get to your new school, walk up and introduce yourself to the person who is raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash. Learn their name and call them by their name during your time at the school.
Another piece of advice: When you pass by people you don’t recognize on the walks, smile, look them in the eye and say hello. The worst thing that will happen is that you will become known as the young man who smiles and says hello, and that is not a bad thing to start with.
You’ve been at a school with just boys. Most of you will be going to a school with girls. I have no advice for you.
I will dictate to you the first note you should write. It will say, ‘Dear [fill in the name of a teacher at Cardigan Mountain School].’ Say: ‘I have started at this new school. We are reading [blank] in English. Football or soccer practice is hard, but I’m enjoying it. Thank you for teaching me.’ Put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it. It will mean a great deal to people who—for reasons most of us cannot contemplate—have dedicated themselves to teaching middle school boys. As I said, that will take you exactly 10 minutes a week. By the end of the school year, you will have sent notes to 40 people. Forty people will feel a little more special because you did, and they will think you are very special because of what you did. No one else is going to carry that dividend during your time at school.
Enough advice. I would like to end by reading some important lyrics. I cited the Greek philosopher Socrates earlier. These lyrics are from the great American philosopher, Bob Dylan. They’re almost 50 years old. He wrote them for his son, Jesse, who he was missing while he was on tour. It lists the hopes that a parent might have for a son and for a daughter. They’re also good goals for a son and a daughter. The wishes are beautiful, they’re timeless. They’re universal. They’re good and true, except for one: It is the wish that gives the song its title and its refrain. That wish is a parent’s lament. It’s not a good wish. So these are the lyrics from Forever Young by Bob Dylan:
May God bless you and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
And may you stay forever young
May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
And may you stay forever young
May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay forever young
Thank you.