诙谐 (huī xié) — humorous, jocular (often in a witty, playful wa…

Definition

A formal/written adjective for witty, playful humor — more literary than 幽默, and usually describes tone or language rather than a person directly.

adjective

humorousjocular (often in a witty, playful way)

诙谐，。
Tā de yǔ yán fēng gé shí fēn huī xié, zǒng ràng rén fā xiào.
His language style is very jocular, always making people laugh.
诙谐，。
Zhè piān zá wén bǐ diào huī xié, dàn bèi hòu cáng zhe shēn kè de fěng cì.
This essay has a jocular tone, but hides profound satire behind it.
，诙谐。
Tā hěn yōu mò, shuō huà zǒng shì hěn huī xié.
He is very humorous; his speech is always witty.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

诙huīwitty

谐xiéhumorous

'诙谐' joins '诙' witty and '谐' humorous, giving playful, amusing speech.

Characters in this word

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 諧; 谐 is its simplified writing.

言皆諧

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

皆

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 諧 combines 言, meaning speech, with 皆 as a sound part; the simplified 谐 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in