Audentes fortuna iuvat
“Fortune favors the bold.”
Virgil, Aeneid 10.284
What does “Audentes fortuna iuvat” mean?
Audentes fortuna iuvat translates as “Fortune favors the bold.”
Luck tends to help those who dare. Taking a brave step often creates the chances that cautious people never get.
“Audentes fortuna iuvat” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Audentes | those who dare, the daring | accusative plural masculine of the present participle of audeo, “I dare”; used as a noun, “those daring”. It is the object of iuvat |
| fortuna | fortune, luck | nominative singular feminine of fortuna, “fortune”; the subject of the sentence |
| iuvat | helps, favors | third person singular present indicative active of iuvo, “I help”, agreeing with fortuna |
How to pronounce “Audentes fortuna iuvat”
The two pronunciations differ only in the v of iuvat: a w sound in Classical Latin, a v sound in Church Latin. Stress falls on the second syllable of audentes, the second of fortuna and the first of iuvat.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “fortune helps those who dare”. It comes from Virgil’s Aeneid, the Latin epic about Aeneas and the founding of Rome, written in the last decades before Christ. In Book 10 the Rutulian leader Turnus speaks the words as he urges himself and his men to attack the Trojans.
The thought was already a familiar saying, and similar sentiments appear in other Roman writers. A variant, fortes fortuna iuvat (“fortune helps the brave”), is the form Pliny the Elder is reported to have used as he sailed toward Vesuvius.
The line outlived the poem and became a common motto and a staple of Latin quotation books. Today it is used to encourage taking a risk or making a bold start.
How to use “Audentes fortuna iuvat”
A good fit for a tattoo, a card for someone starting a new job or venture, or a team or personal motto about taking risks. It also works as an epigraph in an essay on courage or initiative.
- Latin
- Audentes fortuna iuvat
- English
- Fortune favors the bold.
- Source
- Virgil, Aeneid 10.284
- Era
- Antiquity
- Theme
- Courage
Common mistakes
- The usual English rendering has fortune as the subject, so audentes is the object: the bold are the ones helped, not the helpers.
- Audentes is plural. Addressing a single person is awkward in Latin, so the one-person form is not simply a matter of changing one ending.
- Many sources print the saying as fortes fortuna iuvat or simply “fortune favors the brave”. Fortes (“brave”) is a variant, not what Virgil wrote.
- Some quotation lists give the line without its source. It is from Virgil’s Aeneid, spoken by Turnus, not a proverb of unknown origin.
Questions about “Audentes fortuna iuvat”
What does “Audentes fortuna iuvat” mean literally?
“Fortune helps those who dare.” Audentes means “those daring”, fortuna is “fortune” and iuvat is “helps”.
Who said “Audentes fortuna iuvat”?
It is from Virgil’s Aeneid, Book 10, line 284, where the character Turnus speaks it before battle.
How do you pronounce “Audentes fortuna iuvat”?
Classically: ow-DEN-tess for-TOO-nah YOO-wat. In Church Latin the last word is YOO-vat.
Is “Audentes fortuna iuvat” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes, it is the line as Virgil wrote it. Be aware that some people write fortes fortuna iuvat, a different version of the saying.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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