Chinese word

不幸

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù xìng

Meaning

  • adjectiveunfortunate

Example

不幸的是，他失去了工作。bú xìng de shì tā shī qù le gōng zuò

Unfortunately, he lost his job.

Illustration for 不幸 (unfortunate)

More examples

她的婚姻以不幸的结局告终。tā de hūn yīn yǐ bú xìng de jié jú gào zhōng

Her marriage came to an unfortunate end.

Core concept

A state in which happiness and good fortune are absent, leaving life marked by hardship or a damaging setback.

Common phrases

  • 不幸的结局bú xìng de jié jú

    unfortunate ending

  • 不幸的人生bú xìng de rén shēng

    unhappy life

Similar words

悲伤bēi shāng: Feeling sad and emotionally weighed down.
痛苦tòng kǔ: Feeling strong physical or emotional suffering.
倒霉dǎo méi: Having bad luck that causes several bad things to happen in a row.

Definition in Chinese

缺乏幸福或遭遇灾难、处于不利和痛苦的状态。quē fá xìng fú huò zāo yù zāi nàn chǔ yú bú lì hé tòng kǔ de zhuàng tài

Word origin

不幸 (bùxìng, "unfortunate") combines 不 (bù, "not") + 幸 (xìng, "happiness; good fortune"), so it pictures the absence of happiness or luck.

Usage tips

  • Chinese can use this form both to describe an adverse situation and to refer to the misfortune itself, so surrounding grammar shows whether it describes a condition or names the bad event.

Other meanings

  • unluckyadjective
  • misfortunenoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 不幸地bú xìng dìunfortunatelyadverb

Word lists with this word