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不亦乐乎 (bù yì lè hū) — (archaic) isn't that also a joy? — quotation from Confucius; (adverbial, used after 得) extremely, awfully, like crazy

Definition

A set phrase from Confucius, used humorously after 得 to mean 'like crazy, extremely'. It is more literary and playful than the plain 很, and stronger/colloquial than 不行 in this 得-complement pattern.

phrase
(archaic) isn't that also a joy? — quotation from Confucius(adverbial, used after 得) extremelyawfullylike crazy

Examples

  • 不亦乐乎。
    Tā máng dé bù yì lè hū.
    He is extremely busy.
  • 不亦乐乎。
    Xiǎo péng yǒu men xiào dé bù yì lè hū.
    The kids laughed like crazy.
  • 不亦乐乎，。
    Wǒ men chī dé bù yì lè hū, dōu zhàn bù qǐ lái le.
    We ate so much we couldn't stand up.
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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