Tell me more ×
Chinese Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Chinese language. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

I think it means that I succeeded in part because of your luck?

I've heard this used when I was in Beijing a few times.

share|improve this question
1  
More close to because of your blessing, I think – ziyuang Jan 18 '12 at 1:41
1  
I suspect that this comes from Japanese "おかけさまで". I don't recall hearing it a lot in China. It may appear more in a translation of Japanese work (movie, novel, etc). – fefe Jan 18 '12 at 1:55
Why Japanese? What's that mean in Japanese? – David Faux Jan 18 '12 at 2:23
@DavidFaux The same meaning. This maybe an misunderstanding, just a wild guess. – fefe Jan 18 '12 at 3:08
I hear "托您的福" more often as a sarcastic comment. A: 你今天没去看电影？You didn't go to the movies today? B: 托你的福，我帮你找钥匙找了半个小时，没来及去电影院。(Sarcastically) 托你的福! I spent half an hour looking for your key and missed the movie. – gonnastop Mar 18 '12 at 8:50

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote accepted

It's quite common in chinese. The English equivalent of this phrase should be "thanks to you/your..". 托 means because of, a variant of this phrase can be 托您洪福, 托您的洪福..

share|improve this answer
Fivesheep, I know your answer has been accepted, but can you expand it a bit? Thank you. :) – Alenanno♦ Jan 18 '12 at 22:17
I think 托 translated to "rely on" is more precise here. 托 as in 依托 depends on. so 托你的福 -> relying on your 福. 福 as in 福气, means 'good fortune'. Chinese believes that 福 is a kind of positive energy, anyone round some with 福 will take some advantage of it. – Fivesheep Jan 18 '12 at 23:09
Thanks, consider including that in your answer so it's more visible. :) – Alenanno♦ Jan 18 '12 at 23:13
pls use w/ caution. depending on the situation, it can sound quite sarcastic...bcz it's overly polite...rule of thumb is not to use it unless the recipient is 100 years old :) a modern day equivalent would be "在您的帮助下，。。。" – Laguna Jan 19 '12 at 18:06
additional info to my above comment: 1) if you are using 托您的洪福 to mean 'thanks to your help', then my above modern day equivalent is correct; but 2) if you are using it to mean 'thanks to the good fortune that you've brought me', then there really is no modern day equivalent that i can think of off the top of my head. – Laguna Jan 19 '12 at 18:42

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.