sfortuna

/sorˈtu.na/

bad luck

È stata solo sfortuna che la pioggia sia iniziata proprio quando stavamo per uscire.

It was just bad luck that the rain started right when we were about to leave.

general

Bad luck; misfortune.

La sfortuna non abbandona mai quella famiglia.

Bad luck never leaves that family.

Per colpa della sua sfortuna, ha perso il treno.

Due to his bad luck, he missed the train.

Often used in expressions like 'avere sfortuna' (to be unlucky) or 'per sfortuna' (unfortunately).

Collocations

Remember 'avere sfortuna' (to be unlucky) and 'per sfortuna' (unfortunately) as they are frequently used in everyday speech.

'Sfortuna' is the opposite of 'fortuna' (luck). While 'fortuna' can mean both luck and fortune, 'sfortuna' exclusively means bad luck.

From Latin 'sfortuna', composed of 's-' (a variant of 'dis-', meaning 'not') + 'fortuna' (fortune, luck).

Used in both formal and informal contexts. Often paired with verbs like 'avere' (to have) or 'capitare' (to happen).

negative prefix (from Latin 'dis-')

prefix

fortuna

fortune, luck

root

Dizionario Italiano-Inglese