乐极生悲 (lè jí shēng bēi) — extreme joy begets sorrow; too much happiness can lead to tragedy

Definition

A chengyu warning that when joy reaches its peak, it tips into sorrow — used to caution against getting carried away by success or good luck. Often paired with the advice not to 得意忘形.

idiom
extreme joy begets sorrowtoo much happiness can lead to tragedy

Examples

  • ，乐极生悲，。
    Tā yíng le cǎi piào hòu dà sì qìng zhù, méi xiǎng dào lè jí shēng bēi, bù jiǔ jiù pò chǎn le.
    After winning the lottery, he celebrated wildly; unexpectedly, extreme joy begets sorrow, and he went bankrupt soon after.
  • 乐极生悲，。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi jì zhù lè jí shēng bēi de dào lǐ, bú yào dé yì wàng xíng.
    We should remember the principle that extreme joy begets sorrow, and not get carried away with pride.
  • ，乐极生悲，。
    Bǐ sài shèng lì hòu tā men guò yú xīng fèn, jié guǒ lè jí shēng bēi, zài jué sài zhōng shī lì le.
    After winning the match, they were too excited; as a result, extreme joy begets sorrow, and they lost in the final.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

乐极joy reaches its extreme
乐lèjoy极jíextreme
主谓Subject + predicate
生悲produce sorrow
生shēngproduce悲bēisorrow
动宾Verb + object

“乐极” says joy reaches its extreme, and “生悲” says sorrow comes from it.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Open 乐 →

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
木木mùtree, wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí极jí
Same sound today

极 pairs 木 (tree, wood) with 及, which provides the sound.

Open 极 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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
心心xīnheart; thought; emotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi悲bēi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悲 pairs 非 as the sound part with 心, the heart/emotion part.

Open 悲 →

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