悲喜交加 (bēi xǐ jiāo jiā) — mixed feelings of grief and joy; grief and joy interwoven

Definition

A chengyu describing two opposite emotions — sorrow and joy — felt at the same time (e.g., graduation, reunions). Used in writing and formal speech to express a bittersweet, mixed feeling.

idiom
mixed feelings of grief and joygrief and joy interwoven

Examples

  • ，悲喜交加。
    Tīng dào zhè ge jié guǒ, tā zhēn shì bēi xǐ jiāo jiā.
    Hearing this result, he truly felt a mixture of grief and joy.
  • ，悲喜交加，。
    Bì yè diǎn lǐ shàng, tóng xué men bēi xǐ jiāo jiā, jì gāo xìng yòu bú shè.
    At the graduation ceremony, the students felt a mix of grief and joy—both happy and reluctant to part.
  • ，悲喜交加。
    Kàn zhe lǎo zhào piàn, tā bēi xǐ jiāo jiā dì liú xià le yǎn lèi.
    Looking at the old photos, she shed tears with mixed feelings of grief and joy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

悲喜grief and joy
悲bēigrief喜xǐjoy
联合Side by side
交加interweave
交jiāointerweave加jiājoin
联合Side by side

悲 and 喜 (grief and joy) 交加 (interweave), so feelings mix.

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
心心xīnheart; thought; emotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi悲bēi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悲 pairs 非 as the sound part with 心, the heart/emotion part.

Open 悲 →

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 →

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

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

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

加 pairs 力 and 口. In one explanation 力 is strength and 口 is the mouth, meaning exaggeration; in another 力 is plowing effort and 口 is breath or exclamation, meaning extra effort.

Open 加 →

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