吉祥 (jí xiáng) — lucky, auspicious

Definition

吉祥 is a formal, written word for 'auspicious,' used for omens, symbols, and events. 幸运 is the everyday 'lucky' (a person, a break); 吉利 is similar but more colloquial.

adjective
luckyauspicious

Examples

  • 吉祥。
    Zhè ge tú àn xiàng zhēng zhe jí xiáng.
    This pattern symbolizes auspiciousness.
  • ，吉祥。
    Zài zhōng guó wén huà lǐ, hóng sè dài biǎo jí xiáng.
    In Chinese culture, red represents good luck.
  • 吉祥。
    Dà jiā dōu xī wàng zài xīn nián lǐ huò dé jí xiáng.
    Everyone hopes to obtain good fortune in the new year.

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.

吉jíauspicious
祥xiángauspicious

The auspicious senses of 吉 and 祥 reinforce each other to mean lucky and propitious.

Characters in this word

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

In the earliest forms, 吉 was drawn with a mouth-like lower part and an upper part that later became today's upper shape.

Open 吉 →

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shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
羊
羊yáng祥xiáng
Same sound today

祥 pairs 示 (altar) with 羊 for its sound. Originally it was just 羊, and 示 was added later to distinguish it.

Open 祥 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Chinese Culture & Customs

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