又惊又喜 (yòu jīng yòu xǐ) — to be both surprised and delighted; to experience a pleasant surprise

Definition

A fixed chengyu-like set meaning 'both surprised and delighted at once'. Use it for a pleasant surprise — the surprise and the joy come together, not separately.

verb
to be both surprised and delightedto experience a pleasant surprise

Examples

  • ，又惊又喜。
    Tīng dào hái zi kěn yòng gōng dú shū, zuò fù mǔ de zhēn shì yòu jīng yòu xǐ.
    Hearing that their child is willing to study hard, the parents are truly both surprised and delighted.
  • ，又惊又喜。
    Èr shí nián qián de jiù zhào piàn tū rán jì lái, wǒ bù jīn yòu jīng yòu xǐ.
    When a photo from twenty years ago suddenly arrived in the mail, I couldn't help feeling a mix of surprise and joy.
  • ，又惊又喜。
    Tā jìng rán zài bǎi máng zhōng chōu kòng lái fǎng, ràng tā yòu jīng yòu xǐ.
    He actually took time out of his busy schedule to visit, which left her both surprised and delighted.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 又 originally drew a right hand.

Open 又 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng惊jīng
Same sound today

惊 is made from 忄 (heart) and 京, which gives the sound.

Open 惊 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 又 originally drew a right hand.

Open 又 →

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 →

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