Suerte vs. fortuna
While both suerte and fortuna can be translated as luck in English, they carry different connotations. The primary distinction is that suerte is a general and neutral term for chance, whereas fortuna almost always implies positive luck or great wealth.
Suerte
A2Suerte is the most common, everyday word for luck. It is a neutral term that refers to chance, fate, or an outcome, which can be either good or bad. Its meaning is often clarified by context or adjectives like buena (good) or mala (bad).
¡Te deseo mucha suerte en tu examen!
(I wish you lots of luck on your exam!)
¡Qué suerte que encontraste tus llaves!
(How lucky that you found your keys!)
Tuvimos la mala suerte de que lloviera durante nuestras vacaciones.
(We had the bad luck that it rained during our vacation.)
El resultado del partido fue cuestión de suerte.
(The result of the game was a matter of luck.)
No tuve suerte y perdí el autobús.
(I wasn't lucky and I missed the bus.)
Ganar la rifa fue un golpe de suerte.
(Winning the raffle was a stroke of luck.)
Fortuna
B1Fortuna almost exclusively refers to good luck or good fortune, and often has a more formal, literary, or profound tone. It is also the specific word used to mean a large amount of money (a fortune). You would not use fortuna to describe bad luck.
Por fortuna, nadie resultó herido en el accidente.
(Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident.)
Heredó una gran fortuna de sus tíos.
(He inherited a great fortune from his aunt and uncle.)
Tuvo la fortuna de nacer en una familia amorosa.
(She had the good fortune to be born into a loving family.)
Encontrar este libro antiguo fue una verdadera fortuna.
(Finding this antique book was a real piece of good fortune.)
Gracias a la fortuna, conseguimos las últimas entradas para el concierto.
(Thanks to good fortune, we got the last tickets for the concert.)
Amasó una fortuna vendiendo software.
(He amassed a fortune by selling software.)
Summary
In essence, use suerte for general, everyday luck, which can be good, bad, or neutral. It is the correct word to wish someone luck. Use fortuna when you specifically want to emphasize significant good fortune, often in a more formal context, or when you are referring to great monetary wealth. Think of suerte as luck and fortuna as good fortune or a fortune.