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I've come across these two kanji in a few cases for "good/bad fortune" and
even in combination with eachother. I'd really like to understand if there's a
subtle difference that I'm missing so that I know when to use each. Up to this
point I've seen: Good luck/fortune: 幸運/幸福 Bad luck/fortune: 不幸/不運

I've also seen 不幸 mentioned as "miserable" and 幸福 as "happy"

Some insight would be awesome... Thanks!
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2013-11-30T20:56:52.353
13566
2015-02-03T02:28:34.203
3679
question
word-choice kanji
The difference between 幸 and 運 as "luck" or "fortune"
To the best of my knowledge, 幸 is 'happiness' and 運 is 'luck' (good or bad).
English confuses the matter by using the words for 'luck' and 'fortune' with
both neutral and good meanings, but the kanji's meanings are quite separate
from each other. 幸 has very little to do with luck, actually, and pretty much
just means 'happiness' (c.f. 幸せ 'happy, happiness'). 運 more primarily means
'movement' (c.f. 運動 'motion, movement, exercise', 運転する 'drive (a car)', etc),
and the 'luck, fortune' meaning is secondary.
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2013-11-30T21:08:19.980
13567
2013-11-30T21:08:19.980
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answer
幸い is related to happiness as if it was your destiny, 運 on the other hand is
more related to being blessed. A good metabolism would be 運がいい but entering
medical school would be 幸い.
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2015-02-03T02:28:34.203
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2015-02-03T02:28:34.203
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answer