大快人心 (dà kuài rén xīn) — to the great satisfaction of the public; a great relief to everyone

Definition

A chengyu used to celebrate a punishment or downfall that everyone feels is deserved. Almost always describes a satisfying outcome, not just a pleasant feeling.

idiom
to the great satisfaction of the publica great relief to everyone

Examples

  • ，大快人心！
    Nà ge tān guān bèi zhuā le, zhēn shì dà kuài rén xīn!
    That corrupt official was caught — truly a great relief to everyone!
  • ，大快人心。
    Fǎ yuàn pàn le tā shí nián, dà jiā dōu jué de dà kuài rén xīn.
    The court sentenced him to ten years, and everyone felt it was a great satisfaction.
  • ，大快人心。
    Kàn dào huài rén shòu dào chéng fá, zhēn shì dà kuài rén xīn de shì qing.
    Seeing the bad guy punished is truly a thing that pleases everyone.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
夬
夬guài快kuài
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

快 pairs the left part 忄 (full form 心, the heart) with the right part 夬, which gives the sound.

Open 快 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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