多亏

• Pinyin: duō kuī
• Hanzi breakdown: 多 = much/greatly; 亏 = 亏 originally means deficit/loss — in 多亏 it functions as 'owing to/indebted to,' implying one owes good fortune to another

Meaning

Thanks to; fortunately because of. Expresses that a positive outcome was made possible by someone's help or a fortunate circumstance.

多亏 always attributes a good result to an external cause — a person's assistance, a lucky event, or timely intervention. It is warmer and more personal than 由于 (due to) and implies genuine relief and gratitude: 多亏了你 (thanks to you), 多亏有你帮忙 (fortunately you were there to help). Often used to acknowledge that without the cited factor, things would have gone badly.

Examples

1. 多亏了消防员的及时赶到，大火才没有蔓延到周边的居民楼。 Thanks to the firefighters arriving in time, the blaze didn’t spread to the surrounding apartment buildings.
2. 这次谈判能够顺利达成协议，多亏了双方代表保持了极大的耐心与诚意。 This negotiation was able to reach an agreement smoothly thanks to the great patience and sincerity shown by both sides’ representatives.
3. 多亏你提醒，我才想起来忘了带护照，否则今天就无法登机了。 Thanks for the reminder—I’d forgotten my passport. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to board today.

Usage Guide

Context: gratitude, narrative, conversation, testimonials

Tone: grateful

Do Say

• 多亏公司领导在关键时刻拍板决策，整个项目才得以在预算范围内按时交付。(It was thanks to the company leadership making the call at the critical moment that the entire project was delivered on time and within budget.)
• 她当年能够考上理想的大学，多亏了一位素不相识的老教授慷慨资助她的学费。(That year she was able to get into her dream university thanks to the generous financial support of an elderly professor she had never met.)

Don't Say

• 多亏天气不好所以我没去 — 多亏 must lead to a positive outcome; for neutral or negative attribution say 由于天气不好，我没去 or 因为天气差，所以没成行

Origin & History

多 (greatly/how fortunate) + 亏 (thanks to/deficit — here used as 'owing to') — greatly owing to someone or something

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal