Chinese character for luck: 运 (yùn)
The Chinese character for luck is 运 (yùn). It means fortune or luck in words like 好运 (hǎoyùn, good luck) and 运气 (yùnqi, luck), and it also means to move or transport. To wish someone good luck, people say 祝你好运 (zhù nǐ hǎoyùn).
How 运 is built
运 combines 辶, the walking or movement radical, with 云 (yún, cloud), which gives the sound. The traditional form 運 uses 軍 (jūn) instead of 云. The core meaning is movement, and luck in Chinese thinking is something that moves and turns, like fortune changing over time. As a memory aid, picture luck drifting toward you like a cloud along a road.
运 yùn · to run
- 辶 — walking, moving
- 云yún — (classical) to say
- 二 — two strokes
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 厶sī — private
- 二 — two strokes
Origin hint: 辶 gives the meaning, 云 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 运 is used
Other ways to say luck
- 好运 hǎoyùn — good luck, the clearest choice for a tattoo
- 吉 jí — lucky, auspicious; seen in 吉祥 and 大吉
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: Alone 运 can read as 'transport', so 好运 (traditional 好運) is clearer as 'good luck'.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for luck?
运 (yùn) means “luck”. In traditional characters it is written 運.
How do you pronounce 运?
运 is pronounced yùn.
Is 运 simplified or traditional?
运 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore; 運 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.