noun
calamity and fortune, gain and loss
A yojijukugo encapsulating the vicissitudes of life: misfortune and good luck, success and failure, gain and loss. Used in literary or philosophical contexts.
禍福得喪は人の力ではどうにもならない。
Calamity and fortune, gain and loss are beyond human control.
A yojijukugo combining 禍 (calamity), 福 (fortune), 得 (gain), and 喪 (loss). The exact origin is uncertain, but it follows classical Chinese four-character idiom patterns.