TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
幸
ㄒㄧㄥˋ · xìng
noun/adj — luck, fortunate
字源 FORM — what the parts do
幸形rendered bare — two tellings, no single settled origin
The old graph carries two tellings. In one it is a pair of manacles — the restraint that holds a prisoner; to walk free of them is to be lucky, 吉而免凶, good fortune in escaping the worst. In the other it is 夭 (dying young) flipped over: the reverse of an early death is to live, and that is luck. Either way the meaning lands on fortune: 幸運、幸福.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
手銬（幸）打開了，人走出去——逃過一劫，這就是幸。
The manacles (幸) spring open and the man walks out — disaster dodged. That is luck.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)幸運— luck, good fortune常用
→幸福— well-being — luck that lasts
⇒慶幸、幸虧— to count oneself lucky; luckily
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension