不吉

ふきつ · fukitsu · JLPT N1 · na-adj

bad luck

🐈‍⬛ 不 (not) + 吉 (lucky) = not lucky, so ominous or ill-omened

吉 means lucky or auspicious, and 不 negates it. A black cat crossing your path is a classic ill omen in many cultures.

不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.

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