得意 (dé yì) — proud of oneself (often after an achievement);… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

得意 highlights the feeling of being pleased with what you just did, usually for a minor success — not the honor-based pride of 自豪 or the broader 骄傲.

adjective

proud of oneself (often after an achievement)self-satisfied

Easily confused

得益dé yìsound-aliketo derive benefit, to benefit from

Examples

，得意。
Tā dé le guàn jūn, fēi cháng dé yì.
He won the championship and is very proud of himself.
，得意。
Zhè cì kǎo shì tā kǎo dé hěn hǎo, yǒu diǎn dé yì le.
He did very well on this exam and got a bit self-satisfied.
得意。
Tā dé yì dì xiào le xiào.
She smiled smugly.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

得déobtain

意yìintent/feeling

得 meaning obtain plus 意 meaning intent or feeling builds the sense of being pleased with oneself.

Characters in this word

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Emotions & Feelings

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