吉(き↑ち↓)= Lucky (especially from a fortune)
不吉(ふ↑きつ)= Unlucky

Why is it not ふきち!? Makes me want to quote Atsugiri Jason: WHY JAPANESE PEOPLE WHY!!!

/rant

  • Rentlar
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    5 months ago

    It’s Onyomi (The Chinese-based phonetic way) vs. Kunyomi (the Japanese own phonetic way) of pronunciation.

    Like 心 kokoro vs. 心臓 shinzou. The latter in simplified Chinese that this is based off of is 心脏 (Xinzang), which sounds similar.

    Commonly, Onyomi is used when multiple kanji are used to describe a single “word” or concept, and Kunyomi is often used when on its own or is a verb with its own trailing character conjugation (okurigana).

    Many exceptions apply but I hope this rule of thumb helps you.

    • Nihongo@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 months ago

      Thanks… I looked up 吉, and unfortunately it appears that there are just two onyomis for this. WHY!

      • Rentlar
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        5 months ago

        It’s true that other combos for this have kichi as onyomi… this probably is one of those many exceptions.