Definition

1. Adjective:
   • To be blessed, to be fortunate: To have good luck, happiness, or divine favor, often perceived as a reward for good deeds or virtuous living, sometimes inherited from ancestors.
   • To be lucky: To experience favorable circumstances.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Gia đình anh ấy thật có phúc. (His family is truly blessed.)
  • Người có phúc thường gặp nhiều may mắn. (A fortunate person often encounters much luck.)
  • Sống lương thiện ắt sẽ có phúc. (Living virtuously will surely bring blessings.)

Advanced Usage

• "Phúc đức tại mẫu": A proverb meaning "Virtue and blessings come from the mother," highlighting the traditional belief in the mother's moral influence on the family's fortune.
  • Người xưa thường nói phúc đức tại mẫu. (The ancients often said virtue and blessings come from the mother.)
• "Ăn ở có phúc": To live and act in a way that accumulates merit and brings blessings.
  • Cụ bà ăn ở có phúc nên con cháu đều thành đạt. (The old lady lived virtuously and accumulated blessings, so all her children and grandchildren are successful.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phúc (n): Blessing, good fortune, happiness. The core noun from which "có phúc" is derived.
  • Chúc ông bà nhiều phúc lộc. (I wish you [grandparents] abundant blessings and prosperity.)
• Phúc hậu (adj): Kind-hearted, benevolent (describing a person's character).
  • Bà ấy là người rất phúc hậu. (She is a very kind-hearted person.)
• Vô phúc (adj): Unblessed, unfortunate, ill-fated. The antonym of "có phúc".
  • Thật vô phúc! (How unfortunate!)

Synonyms

• May mắn: Lucky, fortunate. (Focuses more on chance and luck.)
• Hạnh phúc: Happy. (Focuses more on the state of joy and contentment.)
• Được phù hộ: To be protected/guarded (by a divine power).

Related Idioms

• "Phúc bất trùng lai, họa vô đơn chí": Blessings do not come in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly. (Meaning good fortune is rare, but trouble often comes in multiples.)
  • Sau tai nạn, ốm đau liên miên, đúng là phúc bất trùng lai, họa vô đơn chí. (After the accident, he was sick continuously; truly, blessings do not come in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.)
• "Có phúc có phần": To have one's share of blessings/fortune.
  • Anh ta làm việc chăm chỉ nên có phúc có phần. (He works hard, so he has his share of good fortune.)