不遇|ふぐうfuguu[0]heiban (flat)

1. na-adjective, no-adjectivemisfortune; ill fate; bad luck; obscurity
   彼女かのじょはわが身みの不遇ふぐうにじっと耐たえねばならなかった。↗

   She had to smile at her misfortune.

• Synonym不運ふうんNeutralPlain bad luck, often a chance mishap; it does not carry the sense of ability going unrecognized that 「不遇」 has.
• Synonym数奇すうきWrittenWritten word for a checkered fate full of strange ups and downs, as in 「数奇な運命」; stresses a dramatic, eventful life.
• Synonym不幸ふこうNeutralThe broadest word for unhappiness or misfortune; it can also mean a death in the family, a use 「不遇」 never has.
• Synonym不幸せふしあわせNeutralColloquial word for not being happy, focused on how one's life circumstances are; no link to unrecognized talent.
• Synonym薄幸はっこうWrittenWritten word for an ill-fated, unhappy lot, often said of women, as in 「薄幸の美女」. Unlike 「不遇」, it does not stress talent left unused.
• Related気の毒きのどくNeutralColloquial: feeling sorry for someone or bad about having troubled them; pity from an onlooker's view, not one's own lack of recognition.
• RelatedアンラッキーNeutralLoanword for unlucky; casual and light in tone, for momentary runs of bad luck rather than a career blighted despite talent.
• Antonym順調じゅんちょうNeutralGoing smoothly and well; the opposite of the frustrated career that 「不遇」 describes.
• Antonym幸運こううんNeutralGood luck or fortune; the straightforward opposite of 「不遇」.
• Antonym恵まれたNeutralBlessed with favorable conditions, as in 「恵まれた環境」; fits both speech and writing, and is the direct opposite of 「不遇」.

Use 「不運」 for plain bad luck. For having talent yet no position or treatment to match it, use 「不遇」, as in 「不遇の天才」「不遇をかこつ」. 「薄幸」 suits an ill-fated lot and 「恵まれた」 a blessed one; 「不幸」 is the broadest, and written 「数奇」 a checkered fate.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 才能さいのうがあるにもかかわらず、それにふさわしい地位ちいや待遇たいぐうに恵めぐまれないこと。