凶兆(きょうちょう)

きょうちょう
noun
bad omen; ill omen; unlucky sign
1. bad omen; ill omen; unlucky sign
A sign or event believed to foretell misfortune or disaster. Used both literally in contexts involving superstition and figuratively to describe worrying signs.
カラスが鳴(な)くのは凶兆(きょうちょう)だという。
They say a crow cawing is a bad omen.
不吉(ふきつ)な夢(ゆめ)を凶兆(きょうちょう)と受(う)け止(と)めた。
I took the ominous dream as a bad omen.
株価(かぶか)の急落(きゅうらく)は経済(けいざい)危機(きき)の凶兆(きょうちょう)かもしれない。
The sharp drop in stock prices may be an omen of an economic crisis.

A somewhat literary or dramatic word for a bad omen. Appears in novels, news commentary, and discussions of superstitions. The opposite is 吉兆(きっちょう) (good omen).

FORMATION:
凶(きょう) (bad luck, misfortune) + 兆(ちょう) (sign, omen)

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 凶兆(きょうちょう)と見(み)なす: to regard as a bad omen
  • 凶兆(きょうちょう)を感(かん)じる: to sense a bad omen
  • 凶兆(きょうちょう)が現(あらわ)れる: a bad omen appears

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 不吉(ふきつ): unlucky, ominous — an adjective describing the quality, while 凶兆(きょうちょう) is the sign itself
  • 吉兆(きっちょう): good omen — the direct antonym
  • 前兆(ぜんちょう): omen, harbinger — neutral (can be good or bad)
  • 悪(わる)い予感(よかん): bad premonition — more colloquial and personal
general
Added 2026.3.29 20:08
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