Japanese Symbol for
幸福kōfuku
happiness · well-being · good fortune
Readings
Meaning
Happiness, well-being, good fortune, prosperity. 幸福 is the formal compound. In everyday speech, 幸せ (shiawase) is the more common word for happiness.
Example words
幸せ
shiawase
happiness (everyday form)
幸運
kōun
good luck, good fortune
福祉
fukushi
welfare, well-being
不幸
fukō
unhappiness, misfortune
福 (fuku) alone is a powerful symbol — it appears on New Year's decorations, lucky charms, and Fukusuke dolls. The character is sometimes hung upside down on doors at New Year, as an upside-down 福 sounds like "fortune arriving" in Chinese — a tradition that spread to Japan.
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