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喜出望外 (xǐ chū wàng wài) — overjoyed beyond one's expectations; pleasantly surprised

Definition

An idiom meaning 'overjoyed beyond what one expected' — the joy is the main focus, stronger and more literary than 惊喜 ('pleasantly surprised'). 兴高采烈 is high excitement without the 'unexpected' element.

phrase
overjoyed beyond one's expectationspleasantly surprised

Examples

  • ，喜出望外。
    Tīng dào zì jǐ bèi lù qǔ de xiāo xi, tā xǐ chū wàng wài.
    Hearing the news that he was admitted, he was overjoyed beyond expectations.
  • ，喜出望外。
    Tā méi xiǎng dào huì shōu dào zhè me guì zhòng de lǐ wù, zhēn shì xǐ chū wàng wài.
    She didn't expect to receive such an expensive gift; she was truly overjoyed.
  • ，喜出望外。
    Zhè cì bǐ sài néng ná guàn jūn, quán duì dōu xǐ chū wàng wài.
    Winning the championship in this competition made the whole team overjoyed beyond expectations.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

喜 combines 壴, a drum, with 口, a mouth.

Open 喜 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 臣臣chéneye
  • 𡈼𡈼𡈼person standing on the ground

望 originally showed 臣 (eye) beside 𡈼 (person standing on the ground): a person standing up and looking off into the distance. Later 月 was added, and the 臣 part became 亡.

Open 望 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.