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遇不遇 (ぐうふぐう, guufuguu) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

遇ぐう不ふ遇ぐう

Meanings

1

happiness and sorrows; fortune and misfortune

A literary noun referring to the ups and downs of life, often used in reflective or philosophical contexts. Rare in modern spoken Japanese.

人じん生せいの遇ぐう不ふ遇ぐうは誰だれにも避さけられない。
The happiness and sorrows of life are unavoidable for anyone.

Kanji

遇meet, encounter, interview
不negative, non-, bad

Related words

幸こう不ふ幸こう
幸不幸 is a more common term for 'fortune and misfortune', while 遇不遇 is rarer and carries a more literary, philosophical tone.

Etymology

Compound of 遇 (meeting, encountering, fortune) and 不遇 (misfortune, obscurity). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is used in classical and literary Japanese to express the vicissitudes of life.