欢欣 (huān xīn) — elated, joyful (formal/literary) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/literary adjective meaning 'elated, overjoyed' — closer to 高兴 than to 快乐, and most often used in writing about collective or shared joy (e.g. 欢欣鼓舞).

adjective

elatedjoyful (formal/literary)

Easily confused

欢心huān xīnsound-alikefavor; liking

Examples

，欢欣。
Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le huān xīn.
Hearing this good news, her heart was filled with joy.
欢欣。
Dà jiā huān xīn dì qìng zhù bǐ sài de shèng lì.
Everyone joyfully celebrated the victory of the match.
欢欣。
Zhè fèn huān xīn wú fǎ yòng yǔ yán biǎo dá.
This joy cannot be expressed in words.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

欢 and 欣 both express joy, so together they mean elated.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歡; 欢 is its simplified writing.

雚欠歡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

雚

雚guàn歡huān

Same sound today

The traditional form 歡 uses 雚 for the sound and 欠 for the meaning; the simplified 欢 is a later shorthand, so its parts do not carry that history.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

斤欠欣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

斤

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

欣 combines 斤, which hints at the sound, with 欠, which carries the meaning.

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