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欣喜若狂 (xīn xǐ ruò kuáng) — wild with joy; beside oneself with happiness; ecstatic

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning 'ecstatic, beside oneself with joy' — emphasizes an extreme, almost frenzied reaction to good news, stronger than plain 高兴.

idiom
wild with joybeside oneself with happinessecstatic

Examples

  • ，欣喜若狂。
    Tīng dào zì jǐ kǎo shàng dà xué de xiāo xi, tā xīn xǐ ruò kuáng.
    When he heard that he had been admitted to university, he was wild with joy.
  • ，欣喜若狂。
    Qiú mí men kàn dào qiú duì duó guàn, gè gè xīn xǐ ruò kuáng.
    When the fans saw their team win the championship, every one of them was ecstatic.
  • ，欣喜若狂，。
    Jiǔ bié chóng féng, liǎng rén xīn xǐ ruò kuáng, jǐn jǐn yōng bào zài yì qǐ.
    After a long separation, the two were beside themselves with joy and hugged each other tightly.

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.

欣喜joy
欣xīnjoy喜xǐjoy
联合Coordinate
若狂like madness
若ruòlike狂kuángmadness
动宾Verb + object

欣喜, great joy, is 若狂, like madness.

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
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
斤
斤jīn欣
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.

Open 欣 →

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.

若 began as a picture of a person combing their hair, associated with obedience.

Open 若 →

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
㞷
㞷㞷狂kuáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狂 pairs 犭 (dog) with 㞷, which gives the sound; 㞷 is an old form of a character meaning 'to go'.

Open 狂 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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