幸 appears in words about happiness and fortune. Learn its readings together with whole words and their contexts.

The idea

幸 has 8 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. In 幸せ（しあわせ） it is read しあわ, while 幸福（こうふく） and 不幸（ふこう） use こう. 幸せ and 幸福 can both mean happiness; 幸福 is more formal.

Patterns to compare
WordReading
幸せしあわせ
幸福こうふく
不幸ふこう
幸いさいわい

Examples

  • 家族かぞくといると、幸しあわせを感かんじます。I feel happy when I am with my family.
  • あなたの幸しあわせを願ねがっています。I wish you happiness.
  • 健康けんこうに暮くらすことは幸しあわせです。Living in good health is happiness.
  • 幸さいわい、雨あめが止やみました。Fortunately, the rain stopped.
  • 彼かれは不幸ふこうな事故じこに遭あいました。He had an unfortunate accident.
  • 彼女かのじょは子こどもたちの幸福こうふくを願ねがっています。She hopes for the happiness of the children.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not confuse 幸 with 辛: 幸 has an extra horizontal stroke near the top. 不幸 means misfortune or unhappiness, the opposite of happiness in this context.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 幸せ in hiragana.

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    しあわせ

    幸せ is しあわせ; the final せ is written in kana. It can describe feeling happy.

  2. Write the reading of 幸福 in hiragana.

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    こうふく

    幸福 is こうふく, a more formal word for happiness. Learn the reading as a whole compound.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 不＿（ふこう）［幸／辛］.

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    幸

    幸 completes 不幸（ふこう）, meaning misfortune or unhappiness; 辛 is a different character.

Use it today

Write 幸 following the diagram. Cover the readings, read 幸せ and 幸福 aloud, then make a sentence with one.