Explore 福 in words about happiness and well-being. Learn each reading in a complete word.

The idea

福 has 13 strokes; follow the linked diagram. Its common on-reading is ふく: 幸福（こうふく）, 福祉（ふくし） and 祝福（しゅくふく）. In 福袋（ふくぶくろ）, 袋 changes from ふくろ to ぶくろ.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingMeaning
幸福こうふくhappiness
福祉ふくしwelfare
祝福しゅくふくblessing
福袋ふくぶくろlucky bag

Examples

  • あなたの幸福こうふくを願ねがっています。I wish you happiness.
  • 彼女かのじょは福祉ふくしの仕事しごとをしています。She works in social welfare.
  • みんなが二人ふたりを祝福しゅくふくしました。Everyone blessed the two of them.
  • 正月しょうがつに福袋ふくぶくろを買かいました。I bought a lucky bag at New Year.
  • 家族かぞくの幸福こうふくを願ねがっています。I hope for my family’s happiness.
  • 町まちは福祉ふくしサービスを充実じゅうじつさせています。The town is improving welfare services.

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

Watch out

福祉 means welfare, not a lucky event. 福袋 is a bag of assorted goods sold without revealing all the contents; compare 福 with the similarly read 服.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 幸福 in hiragana.

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    こうふく

    幸福 is こうふく: it means happiness or well-being. Learn the compound as a whole.

  2. Write the reading of 福袋 in hiragana.

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    ふくぶくろ

    福袋 is ふくぶくろ: the second element is voiced, so it is not ふくふくろ.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 祝＿（しゅくふく）［福／服］.

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    福

    福 completes 祝福（しゅくふく）, a blessing or congratulations; 服 does not form this word.

Use it today

Write 福 using the diagram, then cover the table and read 幸福 and 福袋. Make a sentence with one word.