趋吉避凶
qū jí bì xiōng
to seek good fortune and avoid disaster
Character by character
趋qū
head for
head for
吉jí
luck
luck
避bì
avoid
avoid
凶xiōng
misfortune
misfortune
Example
搬家前挑个好日子，说到底也是想趋吉避凶。
Choosing a lucky day before moving house is, in the end, about seeking good fortune and avoiding bad.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Describes the motive behind lucky dates, fortune-telling and feng shui; a little bookish.
Learn this in Lesson 37 · HSK 5–6: 讨个吉利 (Lucky numbers and lucky words)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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