财运 (cái yùn) — financial luck, fortune in making money

Definition

A compound meaning 'fortune in money-making' — the luck or fate behind how much wealth a person or business attracts. 运 here is the broader 'fate/fortune' (as in 命运, 运气), not luck in the casual sense.

noun
financial luckfortune in making money

Examples

  • 财运，。
    Tā jīn nián cái yùn hěn hǎo, tóu zī zhuàn le bù shǎo qián.
    His financial luck has been great this year; he made a lot of money from investments.
  • ，财运。
    Bié dān xīn, cái yùn bù hǎo zhǐ shì yì shí de.
    Don't worry; bad financial luck is only temporary.
  • 财运，。
    Hěn duō rén qù miào lǐ bài cái yùn, xī wàng shēng yì xīng lóng.
    Many people go to the temple to pray for financial luck, hoping their business will thrive.

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.

财cáiwealth
运yùnfortune

财 wealth and 运 fortune together mean luck in making money.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 財; 财 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái財cái
Same sound today

The traditional form 財 has 貝 (shell) next to 才, which gives the sound; the simplified 财 is a later shorthand.

Open 财 →

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 運; 运 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòmotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn運yùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 運 combines 辵, meaning motion, with 軍 to give the sound; the simplified 运 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 运 →

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