得意扬扬 (dé yì yáng yáng) — smug, self-satisfied, triumphant (in a negative…

Definition

Reduplicated form of 得意, stronger and more disapproving — 'smug, full of oneself' after a small win. 比自满 more vivid and colloquial.

phrase

smugself-satisfiedtriumphant (in a negative or disapproving sense)complacent and proud after a minor success

得意扬扬，。
Tā gāng dé dào biǎo yáng jiù dé yì yáng yáng qǐ lái, lián zǒu lù dōu áng zhe tóu.
As soon as he was praised, he became smug, even walking with his head held high.
得意扬扬，。
Bié nà me dé yì yáng yáng, xià cì kǎo shì nǐ hái bù yí dìng néng yíng ne.
Don't be so smug; you might not win on the next exam.
得意扬扬，。
Tā dé yì yáng yáng dì xuàn yào zì jǐ de xīn chē, péng you men dōu jué de tā tài zì mǎn le.
He smugly showed off his new car, and his friends all thought he was too full of himself.

Characters in this word

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 揚; 扬 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

昜

昜yáng揚

Same sound today

The traditional form 揚 uses 手 to show a hand-related action and 昜 to give the sound; the simplified 扬 is a later abbreviation.