"It's a good thing..."

[amost]

Hey, I have a question for anyone that knows the answer. First, background:

I was outside on a cold night with my fiance and she said to me: "Chicken soupがあるとらく”

...and then I stared blankly. ”トラク？”(I assume "と楽")

She then explained that she was trying to get across that having the chicken soup was convenient...

So! I tried to think of the equivalent english expression and came up with "It's a good thing that _________ "

Can anyone else shed some light on this? am I close?

[Psy]

I've not heard raku used in the sense of 'convenient," so I'm not sure how that interpretation comes about. Were it me, I'd read that sentence as "it'd sure be nice if we had some Chicken soup," since the pattern あるといいね can be used sense of "it'd be nice if there were." Still, unless her english is really choppy I'd take her word for it.

Good luck!

[QuackingShoe]

Convenient is a normal interpretation for me. For example, people use らく to describe how a motorbike is convenient if there's a hill.
Heh.
Of course the more standard word-for-word translation is ease or comfort, but that's all convenience implies anyway.

[Jessi]

Convenient is a normal interpretation for me. For example, people use らく to describe how a motorbike is convenient if there's a hill.
Heh.

This usage of 楽 makes perfect sense to me. It's hard to wrap my brain around the chicken soup example though I think it's because I associate 楽 with "convenient", "easy", etc, which wouldn't make much sense in this situation - I can see how the OP would be confused. I would expect to hear something more like あったらいいね like Psy mentioned.

[amost]

haha thanks everyone! I have a feeling the meaning is like described above seeing as how when she was explaining what she meant, she metioned that it was convenient that we have chicken soup at home when the weather is this cold. (it might be some pretty hardcore slang/being veigue)

I was just trying to think of what I would say in that situation in english! thanks alot!

While we're on the topic of veigue slang, the other day she told me you can say "ikeba" or "sureba" or "yareba" as a really really informal way to express to someone that they can go/do whenever/whatever they want... for example (I think:)

"toire ni ikitai"
"ikeba"

"I have to go to the bathroom!"
"well then go!"

before then, I had only heard the ~ba form for "if ......."