How to Say "Unhappy" in Japanese

不幸な

fukō na

The English word 'unhappy' is translated into Japanese as 不幸な (fukō na).

不幸な is used to describe a state of misfortune or a lack of luck and happiness in one's life.

Meaning: not happy, sad (adj)

What does it mean word for word?

The word is composed of the kanji 不 (fu), meaning 'not' and 幸 (kō), meaning 'happiness' or 'fortune'.

While 不幸な often refers to a state of misfortune or a lack of luck in life, the word 悲しい is used for the immediate emotional feeling of sadness.

To change the na-adjective 不幸な into an adverb meaning 'unhappily', replace the な with に to form 不幸に.

fukō na

While an English speaker might say 'I am unhappy' to mean they are sad, saying 私は不幸です in Japanese sounds as if you are announcing that your entire life is plagued by disaster.
The character 幸 used in 不幸な is also the root for the word 'happiness' in many common Japanese names, such as 'Sachiko'.
The kanji 幸 in 不幸な is also found in the word 幸せ (shiawase), but the two words use different readings for the same character to distinguish between 'fortune' and 'happiness'.

彼は数々の不幸な経験をした。
He's had many unhappy experiences.
This sentence shows how to use 不幸な to describe experiences.
Tatoeba #1082426 by mookeee, translation #970595 by CK
すべての幸福な家庭は互いに似ている。不幸な家庭はそれぞれの仕方で不幸である。
Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
This sentence uses 不幸な to describe the state of a family.
Tatoeba #390015 by Scott, translation #390016 by Scott
私は悲しいです。
I am unhappy.
彼のサービスには不満です。
I am unhappy with his service.
彼女の失敗により、彼は不幸になった。
He became unhappy due to her failure.
彼の態度にはうんざりする。
I am fed up with his attitude.
彼の行動にはがっかりした。
I was disappointed with his behavior.
彼女の去り際にむなしさを感じた。
I felt an emptiness when she left.
不幸な結末にならないように。
Fukou na ketsumatsu ni naranai you ni.
I hope it doesn't end in an unhappy way.
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Kenta and Misaki are discussing a friend's difficult situation.

健太 Kenta

彼は今、とても不幸な状況にあります。
Kare wa ima, totemo fukō-na jōkyō ni arimasu.
He is in a very unhappy situation right now.
美咲 Misaki

それは大変ですね。何か手伝えますか？
Sore wa taihen desu ne. Nanika tetsudaemasu ka?
That's terrible. Is there anything we can do to help?
健太 Kenta

そうですね。誰かの助けが必要です。
Sō desu ne. Dareka no tasuke ga hitsuyō desu.
I agree. He needs someone's help.
美咲 Misaki

一緒に考えましょう。
Issho ni kangaemashō.
Let's think about it together.

Sources

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