<p>According to the Oxford Dictionary - The earliest known use of the word <strong>happy-go-lucky</strong> is in the late 1600s. OED's earliest evidence for happy-go-lucky is from 1672, in the writing of William Wycherley, playwright. happy-go-lucky is formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: happy adj., go v., lucky adj. <a href="https://www.oed.com/dictionary/happy-go-lucky_adv?tl=true#:%7E:text=The%20earliest%20known%20use%20of,go%20v.%2C%20lucky%20adj" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.oed.com/dictionary/happy-go-lucky_adv?tl=true#:~:text=The%20earliest%20known%20use%20of,go%20v.%2C%20lucky%20adj</a>.</p>
<p>And, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, in English, &quot;happy-go-lucky&quot; means &quot;A happy-go-lucky person does not plan much and accepts what happens without becoming worried. Synonyms. carefree (無憂無慮). <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/happy-go-lucky" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/happy-go-lucky</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-01T23:20:35.683Z
Not of Chinese origin, then.
河南宝宝
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2024-04-02T00:13:06.057Z
Not to my knowledge. Famous Chinese-English phrases/slang are usually formed by word-by-word substitution, such as "people mountain people sea (人山人海)"; "long time no see ( 好久不見了). The direct substitution for "happy-go-lucky" would be "快樂走/去幸福/運", which makes no sense.
r13
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2024-04-01T22:50:46.947Z
2024-04-01T22:50:46.947Z
r13
<p>I normally use the idiom 萧摇自在, Xiāo Yáo Zì Zài, meaning: unfettered, unrestrained, at ease.</p>
<p>It comes from 白居易, Bái Jūyì, of the Tang Dynasty, titled, &quot;View from Above the Bodhi Temple&quot;, 菩提寺上方远眺, &quot;Pú tí sì shàng fāng yuǎn tiào&quot;</p>

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2024-04-02T17:12:39.593Z
I think 逍遙自在 is more in line with "duty-free - 無官一身輕".
r13
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2024-04-08T22:36:54.523Z
I'm picturing a shop in Shanghai Airport named 逍遙自在 and offering reduced prices on wines and spirits...
河南宝宝
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-09T02:50:13.920Z
I am not sure whether you are joking, but, "Duty-free" as interpreted by @r13 is not in the sense of "Custom-tax-free" He meant the sense that one has no "worries", "responsibilities", "duties", "burdens", and thus "free-and-easy", which means a person could also be "Happy-go-Lucky", because 逍遙 means "carefree", and 自在 means, amongst other definitions, "unrestrained", "unhindered" by any immediate "worries", "duties", like mundane, everyday work.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-02T02:37:29.430Z
2024-04-02T02:37:29.430Z
Wayne Cheah
<p>I think 隨遇而安 fits best, although the &quot;happy&quot; part is missing.</p>
<p>Maybe 樂天知命</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-08T04:42:29.457Z
2024-04-08T04:42:29.457Z
fat penguin
<p>Google Translate results for &quot;Happy Go Lucky&quot; is 無憂無慮 (carefree) is quite fitting.</p>
<p>Happy Go Lucky is also similar to a few Chinese expressions:</p>
<p>隨遇而安 - take things as they come (be content no matter what you encounter)</p>
<p>遊戲人間 - live life like it is a game (not take anything seriously)</p>
<p>聽天由命 - let gods and fate decide everything (resign yourself to fate)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-01T22:25:57.607Z
2024-04-01T23:11:14.380Z
2024-04-01T23:11:14.380Z
Tang Ho
<p>This sounds very much like certain well-known Pidgin English phrases of Chinese origin such as Look-See or No-Can-Do, but I'm struggling to think what it could have originally been in Chinese.</p>
<p>Is Happy-Go-Lucky a Chinese Pidgin English phrase, and if so what was the original phrase in Chinese?</p>

<phrase>
Happy Go Lucky - what was this in Chinese?
# Happy Go Lucky - what was this in Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-04-01)

This sounds very much like certain well-known Pidgin English phrases of Chinese origin such as Look-See or No-Can-Do, but I'm struggling to think what it could have originally been in Chinese.

Is Happy-Go-Lucky a Chinese Pidgin English phrase, and if so what was the original phrase in Chinese?

**Tags:** phrase


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-04-01. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

According to the Oxford Dictionary - The earliest known use of the word **happy-go-lucky** is in the late 1600s. OED's earliest evidence for happy-go-lucky is from 1672, in the writing of William Wycherley, playwright. happy-go-lucky is formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: happy adj., go v., lucky adj. [https://www.oed.com/dictionary/happy-go-lucky\_adv?tl=true#:~:text=The%20earliest%20known%20use%20of,go%20v.%2C%20lucky%20adj](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/happy-go-lucky_adv?tl=true#:%7E:text=The%20earliest%20known%20use%20of,go%20v.%2C%20lucky%20adj).

And, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, in English, "happy-go-lucky" means "A happy-go-lucky person does not plan much and accepts what happens without becoming worried. Synonyms. carefree (無憂無慮). <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/happy-go-lucky>

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Not of Chinese origin, then.  
> **username_1**: Not to my knowledge. Famous Chinese-English phrases/slang are usually formed by word-by-word substitution, such as "people mountain people sea (人山人海)"; "long time no see ( 好久不見了). The direct substitution for "happy-go-lucky" would be "快樂走/去幸福/運", which makes no sense.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2024-04-02. Score: 0

I normally use the idiom 萧摇自在, Xiāo Yáo Zì Zài, meaning: unfettered, unrestrained, at ease.

It comes from 白居易, Bái Jūyì, of the Tang Dynasty, titled, "View from Above the Bodhi Temple", 菩提寺上方远眺, "Pú tí sì shàng fāng yuǎn tiào"

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think 逍遙自在 is more in line with "duty-free - 無官一身輕".  
> **username_0**: I'm picturing a shop in Shanghai Airport named 逍遙自在 and offering reduced prices on wines and spirits...  
> **username_2**: I am not sure whether you are joking, but, "Duty-free" as interpreted by @username_1 is not in the sense of "Custom-tax-free" He meant the sense that one has no "worries", "responsibilities", "duties", "burdens", and thus "free-and-easy", which means a person could also be "Happy-go-Lucky", because 逍遙 means "carefree", and 自在 means, amongst other definitions, "unrestrained", "unhindered" by any immediate "worries", "duties", like mundane, everyday work.  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2024-04-08. Score: 0

I think 隨遇而安 fits best, although the "happy" part is missing.

Maybe 樂天知命


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### Answer by username_4 on 2024-04-01. Score: 0

Google Translate results for "Happy Go Lucky" is 無憂無慮 (carefree) is quite fitting.

Happy Go Lucky is also similar to a few Chinese expressions:

隨遇而安 - take things as they come (be content no matter what you encounter)

遊戲人間 - live life like it is a game (not take anything seriously)

聽天由命 - let gods and fate decide everything (resign yourself to fate)


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