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福星 (fú xīng) — a lucky person or thing that brings good fortune; (in Chinese folklore) the Star God of Happiness; (astronomy) Jupiter

Definition

A 'lucky star' — figuratively, a person or thing that brings you good fortune. In Chinese folklore it is the Star God of Happiness, whose image is hung at New Year for luck.

noun
a lucky person or thing that brings good fortune(in Chinese folklore) the Star God of Happiness(astronomy) Jupiter
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • 福星，。
    Nǐ zhēn shì wǒ de fú xīng, měi cì yǒu nǐ bāng máng dōu néng chéng gōng.
    You're really my lucky star — every time you help, it works out.
  • 福星，。
    Guò nián shí jiā lǐ tiē le fú xīng de huà xiàng, qí qiú hǎo yùn.
    During the New Year, my family hung a picture of the Star God of Happiness to pray for good luck.
  • 福星。
    Gǔ dài tiān wén xué jiā bǎ fú xīng jiào zuò suì xīng.
    Ancient astronomers called Jupiter the Year Star.

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.

福fúblessing
星xīngstar

福 means blessing or good fortune and 星 means star, so 福星 is a lucky star or bringer of luck.

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 →

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

The top of 星 is a later simplified form of 晶, twinkling stars; the bottom 生 shows the sound.

Open 星 →
Appears in
Mythology & Folklore

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