行乐 (xíng lè) — to seek amusement, to make merry (literary/form…

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning 'to seek pleasure or amuse oneself' — close to 享乐 but more classical, used in writing rather than everyday speech.

verb

to seek amusementto make merry (literary/formal)

行乐。
Gǔ rén cháng yǐ yǐn jiǔ xíng lè lái xiāo jiě yōu chóu.
Ancient people often sought amusement with drinking to dispel worry.
，行乐？
Dà jiā nán dé xiāng jù, hé bú chèn jī xíng lè yì fān?
We seldom gather – why not take the chance to enjoy ourselves a bit?
，。
Tā nián qīng shí xíng guò xǔ duō lè, rú jīn què ān yú píng dàn.
He sought much amusement in his youth, but now he's content with a quiet life.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

行xíngcarry out

乐lèpleasure

行 means to carry out, and 乐 means pleasure: carrying out pleasure, or making merry.

Characters in this word

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

彳亍行

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Appears in