Meaning
luckily, fortunately
In a sentence
Fortunatamente ho trovato subito le chiavi di casa.
Luckily I found my house keys right away.
Fortunatamente non piove, possiamo uscire a piedi.
Fortunately it isn't raining, we can go out on foot.
Siamo arrivati alla stazione in tempo, fortunatamente.
We arrived at the station on time, luckily.
Usage notes
- Often sentence-initial with a comma: Fortunatamente, ...; it can also go before the verb for emphasis.
- More neutral and common than per fortuna in writing; per fortuna sounds slightly more conversational.
- Do not use it to mean hopeful expectation; for that, use magari, speriamo, or si spera depending on context.