Top 10 Lucky Chinese Characters

With the upcoming Spring Festival in mind, the luxury brand Burberry has just put a new Chinese-style scarf on the market. The scarf is embroidered with the Chinese character "fu" (福), which means "luck" and "good fortune."

Besides “福”, there are many other "lucky characters" in Chinese, and we list the top 10 as follows.

1 福 (fú)- good fortune

Fu is one of the most popular Chinese characters during the Chinese New Year period. It is often posted upside down on the front door, meaning “Good fortune has arrived”. (In Chinese, “arrive” and “upside down” share the same pronunciation, dào.)

2 禄 (lù)–prosperity

It used to mean an official's salary in feudal China. Now it refers to higher payment and better promotion in one’s career.

3 寿 (shòu) - longevity

Shou also means life, age or birthday. It is generally used to bless elderly people.

4 喜 (xǐ)- happiness

This character is usually posted everywher in double on Chinese weddings (indicating both the bride and the groom are happy).

5 财 (cái)- wealth, money

A Chinese saying goes: Money can make a ghost turn a millstone. It goes to show how powerful money is. Therefore, it is common to wish people more money in the New Year.

6 和 (hé)- harmonious

"Harmony" is an important part of Chinese culture. When you have harmonious relations with others, everything will get easier for you.

7 爱 (ài)- love, affection

It is a universal lucky word, isn’t it?

8 美 (měi)- beautiful, pretty   

It means beauty or beautiful in Chinese. It can be used to describe one’s appearance or feelings.

9 吉 (jí)- lucky

In Chinese, it means everything goes well. And when that is the case, you are obviously lucky.

10 德 (dé)– virtue

It means virtue, morality, heart, mind, kindness etc. Most Chinese believe that one needs to show good virtues to be a convincing leader.