万幸 (wàn xìng) — extremely lucky; by sheer luck

Definition

万幸 emphasizes that a good outcome came about by sheer luck, often with relief that something bad was narrowly avoided (as in the examples). It is more literary and emphatic than 幸运, which is the plain everyday word for 'lucky'.

adjective
extremely luckyby sheer luck

Examples

  • 万幸，。
    wàn xìng Tā méi yǒu shòu shāng, zhǐ shì cā pò le yì diǎn pí.
    Luckily he wasn't hurt, just a scratch on the skin.
  • 万幸。
    wàn xìng Wǒ zài kǎo shì qián fā xiàn le yí gè cuò wù.
    Fortunately I found a mistake before the exam.
  • 万幸。
    wàn xìng Wǒ men gǎn shàng le zuì hòu yì bān chē.
    By sheer luck we caught the last bus.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

万wànten thousand
幸xìnggood fortune

万 gives ten thousand and 幸 gives good fortune, together meaning unusually lucky.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 幸 →

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