福寿 (fú shòu) — good fortune and longevity (a traditional blessing or wish)

Definition

A traditional written blessing pairing 福 (fortune) with 寿 (longevity), used on birthday gifts and artwork for elders — not a word for everyday speech.

noun
good fortune and longevity (a traditional blessing or wish)

Examples

  • 福寿，。
    Zhù nín fú shòu shuāng quán, jiàn kāng kuài lè.
    Wishing you both good fortune and longevity, health and happiness.
  • 福寿。
    Zhè fú huà shàng huà zhe fú shòu de tú àn.
    This painting features a pattern symbolizing good fortune and longevity.
  • ，福寿。
    Lǎo rén guò shēng rì shí, dà jiā sòng tā fú shòu tú.
    When the elderly man celebrated his birthday, everyone gave him a picture of good fortune and longevity.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

福fúfortune
寿shòulongevity

福 means fortune and 寿 means longevity, so the wish pairs fortune with long life.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shì
Sound part声符shēngfú
畐
畐fú福fú
Same sound today

福 combines 示 and 畐, with 示 carrying the meaning and 畐 the sound.

Open 福 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 壽; 寿 is its simplified writing.

  • 耂耂lǎoold
  • 𢏚𢏚𢏚

The traditional form 壽 uses 耂 for old and a sound part 𢏚, plus added decorative marks; the simplified 寿 is a later shorthand.

Open 寿 →

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