bad luck; misfortune; ill fortune
Refers to an unlucky or inauspicious state or event. Often used in compounds like 凶報 (bad news) or 凶年 (bad harvest year).
今年は凶が続いている。
Bad luck has been continuing this year.
彼は凶を吉に変える力がある。
He has the ability to turn misfortune into good fortune.
When I drew an omikuji at the New Year's shrine visit, I got a bad fortune.
友達は毎年凶を引いてがっかりしている。
My friend draws a bad fortune every year and gets disappointed.
厄 refers to a specific calamity or curse (as in yakudoshi, an unlucky age), whereas 凶 is the broader term for an unlucky state or fortune-telling result.
凶 is a formal, often written term for bad luck or disaster (as in fortune-telling), while 不吉 is the everyday word for an ominous feeling.
吉 means good luck or a favorable fortune, the direct opposite of 凶's bad luck, and the two are the classic paired results on an omikuji.
atrocious; heinous; vicious
ferocious; brutal; savage
dangerous weapon; lethal weapon; murder weapon
ringleader; main culprit · main cause; source
act of violence; vicious crime; murder
bad harvest; poor crop
terrible luck; very bad luck
good or bad luck; fortune
assassin's bullet; bullet from an assassin
Standard kanji form; used in news and common vocabulary.
Rarely used kanji form.
The kanji 凶 originally depicts a container with something inside, symbolizing bad or ominous contents. The reading きょう is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi.
calamity; misfortune; disaster
scoundrel; ruffian; villain
evil omen; ill omen; bad sign
gang; gangsters; band of ruffians
dangerous weapon
assassin's dagger; murderous blade
bad news; ill tidings · news of a death; death notice
catastrophe; disaster; assassination
inauspicious dream; bad dream
unlucky house; haunted house