Taxonomy of meanings for 吉:　　

Additional information about 吉

說文解字: 【吉】，善也。从士、口。 【居質切】

Criteria
• WICKED
  

  1. The most current and general word for wickedness is probably è 惡 (ant. shàn 善 "good"), but it must be noted that in early texts the word is more current in the meaning of physical ugliness.

  2. Xié 邪 (ant. zhèng 正 "straight and in no way wicked") typically involves nuances of sinister evil influences in addition to plain human depravity.

  3. Suì 祟 (ant. xiáng 祥 "of the good innocuous kind") refers to sinister supernatural wicked forces operating in the human world.

  4. Yāo 妖 (ant. jí 吉 "of a generally auspicious nature") typically implies nuances of seductive or beguiling qualities coexisting with wickedness.

  5. Jiān 姦 (ant. liáng 良 "of the good sort, decent") refers to sheer human depravity with no supernatural or sinister overtones.

  6. Chǒu 醜 (ant. měi 美 "of commendable moral quality") often refers to something rather like moral ugliness and depravity in early texts, but from Han times onwards the word comes to refer to physical ugliness].

  7. Qū 曲 (ant. duān 端 "straight and unwarped") refers to warped crookedness and lack of moral straightness.

  8. Wú 污 (ant. jié 潔 "morally pure and spotless") refers to moral defilement or moral impurity.

  9. Liè 劣 (ant. ) refers to moral inferiority as opposed to excellence.

  10. Pì 僻 (ant. ) refers to

  11. Jiāo 姣 refers to wickedness coupled with cunning, scheming and malice.

  12. Xiǎn 險 is occasionally used to refer to the type of wickedness that is a danger to the group or the state.

  13. Wāi 歪 (ant. zhí 直 "morally straight") refers to wickedness under the image of moral warpedness and and deviation from a straight proper norm.

  14. Xiōng 凶 refers to a baneful wickedness that bodes ill for the future.

  15. Chǐ 恥 refers to something that is a public disgrace. See SHAME.

• AUSPICIOUS
  

  [ACTION/EVENT]

  [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  1. The general term is jí 吉 (ant. xiōng 凶 "inauspicious") and refers to any natural phenomenon or supposed supernatural response that is of good omen, in an everyday almost secular way.

  [GENERAL]

  2. Xiáng 祥 tends to refer to the auspiciousness of human actions, but in its nominal usages it came to be used more generally for all tings that bode well or ill.

  [ACTION!]

  3. The archaising and elevated, mostly nominal, ruì 瑞 has specific religious connotations with rituals and the Will of Heaven.

  [ARCHAIC]

  NB: Xìng 幸 (ant. bù xìng 不幸 "unfortunate") is purely "secular", and often coincidental, good luck with no metaphysical or religious significance being attached to the term. See LUCKY

• DREAM
  

  1. The current standard word for a dream is mèng 夢.

  2. Xiōng mèng 凶夢 refers to a nightmare.

  ZHOULI 3 占夢：掌其歲時，觀天地之會，辨陰陽之氣。以日月星辰占六夢之吉凶，一曰正夢，二曰噩夢，三曰思夢，四曰寤夢，五曰喜夢，六曰懼夢。季冬，聘王夢，獻吉夢于王，王拜而受之。乃舍萌于四方，以贈惡夢，遂令始難驅疫。

• INAUSPICIOUS
  

  1. The current general word for what is of no good omen is xiōng 凶 (ant. jí 吉 ).

  2. Jiù 咎 is an archaic elevated terminus technicus for inauspiciousness used especially in divination literature.

  3. Yāo 妖 / 祅 refers to concrete inauspicious events like animal misfosters.

  4. Niè 孽 refers to inauspicious events, and the reference is said to be typically to botanic misfosters.

  5. Jìn 祲 refers to inauspicious supernatural influences.

  6. Bù xiáng 祥 is currently used to refer to inauspicious events.

Word relations
• Ant: (AUSPICIOUS)凶/INAUSPICIOUS The current general word for what is of no good omen is xiōng 凶 (ant. jí 吉). 7 Attributions
• Ant: (AUSPICIOUS)禍/DISASTER The most common general word for disasters is huò 禍 (ant. fú 福 "good fortune") which has no connotations of any metaphysical kind. (In OBI the character currently transcribed as huò 禍 - and closely related to 占 - refers not only to disasters as such, but particularly to disastrous omens.)
• Epithet: (AUSPICIOUS)福/LUCK The dominant general word for good fortune is fú 福 (ant. huò 禍 "misfortune"), and the dominant general word for good luck is xìng 幸 (ant. yāng 殃 "misfortune"). 2 Attributions
• Contrast: (LUCK)喜/DELIGHT Xǐ 喜 (ant. yōu 憂 "worry") is openly manifested delight, manifested in an individual, visible to all, but not normally of any profound significance.
• Contrast: (EXCELLENT)善/EXCELLENT Shàn 善 (ant. zhuó 拙 "inept"), when the word does not mean moral goodness, but is close in meaning to liáng 良, refers to an acquired specific skill or propensity for certain forms of action.
• Assoc: (AUSPICIOUS)祥/AUSPICIOUS Xiáng 祥 tends to refer to the auspiciousness of human actions, but in its nominal usages it came to be used more generally for all tings that bode well or ill.
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)良/EXCELLENT The standard current general word for anything or anyone who naturally meets certain generally accepted high standards of excellence is liáng 良 (ant. liè 劣 "inferior").
• Assoc: (EXCELLENT)盛/ABUNDANT The general word for abundance of any kind, man-made or natural, is shèng 盛 (ant.*xī 稀 "sparse"). 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (LUCK)安/COMFORTABLE The standard word for material and psychological comfort is ān 安.