晦气 (huì qì) — unlucky, having bad luck (colloquial) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Colloquial 'unlucky, in a streak of bad luck' — used as a casual complaint about minor misfortune, not for serious events. Similar to 倒霉 but a bit more superstitious, as if a bad vibe is following you around.

adjective

unluckyhaving bad luck (colloquial)

Examples

晦气，。
Jīn tiān zhēn huì qì, chū mén jiù xià yǔ le.
What bad luck today — it started raining as soon as I left the house.
晦气，。
Tā jué de zì jǐ zuì jìn hěn huì qì, zuò shén me dōu bú shùn.
He feels he's been very unlucky lately — nothing goes smoothly.
，晦气。
Bié shuō le, yuè shuō yuè huì qì.
Don't talk about it, the more you talk the worse the luck gets.

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.

晦huìdark

'晦' (dark) + '气' (mood) = dark mood, unlucky.

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.

日每晦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi晦huì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

晦 combines 日 (sun) with 每, which gives its sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

Abstract Concepts

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