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Kanji Detail for 幸 - "happiness, fortune, blessing"

幸

  • Meaning

    幸 means "happiness, fortune, blessing."

    1. Happiness - Joy; good fortune; bliss.

    2. Fortune - Luck; favorable circumstances.

    3. Blessing - Divine favor; a gift of good things.

  • Words using 幸

    • 不幸 ふこう Listen unhappiness; sorrow; misfortune
    • 幸福 こうふく Listen happiness; well-being; joy
    • 幸い さいわい Listen happiness; blessedness; luck
    • 幸いです さいわいです Listen it would be appreciated (if); I would be grateful (if); it would be helpful (if)

  • Four-character idioms with 幸

    • 幸災楽禍 こうさいらくか Listen delighting in the misfortune of others

  • Origin of 幸

    Classically a pictograph of a criminal's manacle — good fortune began, with dark humour, as the luck of escaping it. Another old account reads it as "evading early death". Either way: happiness is the disaster that missed.

    How to remember it: A handcuff you are not wearing — fortune is every misfortune that passed you by.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 幸

    • Verified meaning: happiness, fortune, blessing
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read こう, こうさき, こうざき, こうじ)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 幸

    Given names 幸(こう)Listen 幸(こお)Listen 幸(さいわい)Listen 幸(さき)Listen 幸(さきは)Listen

    Surnames 幸(こうさき)Listen 幸(こうざき)Listen 幸(こうじ)Listen 幸(こうしょう)Listen 幸(こうそう)Listen 幸(こうふく)Listen 幸(さいさき)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    happiness; blessing; fortune

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    luck(ily), favor, fortunately

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    trusted; intimate; (of the emperor) to visit; variant of 幸[xing4]

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    favor, fortune, luck; surname

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Good fortune. Also | To hope. Such as 幸災樂禍, meaning hoping for others' misfortune as one's pleasure. | To favor. In old times, eunuchs and palace maids gaining favor was called 得幸. Also, where the emperor goes is called 巡幸, like saying "gracing with presence." All humbly expressing undeserved good fortune.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    koh(コウ) コウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    sachi(さち) さち

    saiwa.i(さいわ-い) さいわ-い

    shiawa.se(しあわ-せ) しあわ-せ

  • Strokes

    tip

    8 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    干 (kan・ichiju・hosu)

  • Related Keywords

    happiness fortune blessing luck cherish love appreciate harvest imperial visit joy bliss prosperity auspicious favorable contentment well-being felicity serendipity fortunate treasure

Sentences including 幸

  • He lived an unhappy life.

  • I feel happy.

  • Are you happy in your house?

  • She had a happy childhood.

  • I don't think she is happy.

  • In fact , i am happy.

  • He was very happy.

  • Happy is the man who is contented.

  • For all her wealth , she does not look happy.

  • We felt happy when the examination was over.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 干 (kan・ichiju・hosu)

See all kanji with this radical →

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