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快活 (kuài huo) — happy, cheerful

Definition

快活 is a relaxed, everyday word for feeling happy and carefree — lighter than 愉快 and more casual than 愉悦. Often describes how life or a moment feels, not a person's personality (for that, use 开朗).

adjective
happycheerful

Examples

  • 。
    Tā men yì jiā rén shēng huó dé hěn kuài huo.
    Their family lives very happily.
  • 快活，。
    Tā xiào dé nà me kuài huo, ràng suǒ yǒu rén dōu hěn kāi xīn.
    She laughed so cheerfully that everyone was very happy.
  • ，。
    Tuì xiū yǐ hòu, lǎo zhāng měi tiān dōu guò dé hěn kuài huo.
    After retiring, Old Zhang lives happily every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

快kuàihappy
活huólively

快活 blends 快 and 活, each carrying a cheerful, lively sense, to mean happy and cheerful.

Characters in this word

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 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.