悦 (yuè) — happy, delighted (bound form, used in compounds like 喜悦, 愉悦); to please, delight (bound form, as in 悦耳, 悦目)
Definition
悦 (yuè) is a bound (literary) form meaning 'delighted' or 'pleasing' — it almost never stands alone, surfacing in set compounds like 喜悦, 愉悦, 悦耳, 悦目.
bound form
happydelighted (bound form, used in compounds like 喜悦, 愉悦)to pleasedelight (bound form, as in 悦耳, 悦目)
Easily confused
- 说shuōlook-aliketo speak, to say, to talk
- 月yuèsound-alikemoon
- 锐ruìlook-alike(bound form) sharp, keen
- 越yuèsound-alike(adverb, in structure '越A越B') the more... the more
- 蜕tuìlook-aliketo shed; to cast off (as a bound morpheme in words like 蜕皮, 蜕变)
- 跃yuèsound-aliketo leap; to jump (bound form, used in compounds)
Examples
- 。Tā xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le xǐ yuè.His heart was filled with joy.
- 。Zhè shǒu yīn yuè tīng qǐ lái fēi cháng yú yuè.This piece of music sounds very delightful.
- 。Bǎi niǎo de gē shēng shí fēn yuè ěr.The songs of a hundred birds were very pleasing to the ear.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì悦yuè
Same sound today
The heart part 忄 shows the feeling of delight; 兌 gives the sound.
Appears in
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