鸿运 (hóng yùn) — great luck, good fortune

Definition

鸿运 means 'great luck' or a stroke of good fortune — stronger and more literary than 运气 or 幸运, typically used in festive well-wishes like 鸿运当头.

noun
great luckgood fortune
Easily confused

Examples

  • 鸿运，。
    Zhù nǐ xīn nián hóng yùn dāng tóu, wàn shì rú yì.
    Wishing you great luck in the new year and all the best.
  • 鸿运，。
    Zuì jìn wǒ zǒu hóng yùn le, zhǎo dào le hǎo gōng zuò.
    I've been blessed with good luck lately — I found a great job.
  • 鸿运。
    Zhè ge fú dài néng gěi nǐ dài lái hóng yùn.
    This lucky bag can bring you good fortune.

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.

鸿hónggreat
运yùnfortune

鸿 conveys the idea of great and 运 means fortune, giving the sense of great 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鴻; 鸿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鳥鳥niǎobird
Sound part声符shēngfú
江
江jiāng鴻hóng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鴻 pairs 鳥 (bird) with 江 as a sound part; the simplified 鸿 is a later shorthand.

Open 鸿 →

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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