道喜 (dào xǐ) — to congratulate (on a happy occasion, esp. face-to-face)

Definition

道喜 means to congratulate someone in person at a happy occasion (marriage, birth, promotion). Unlike 祝贺, it specifically implies showing up or going to the person face-to-face.

verb
to congratulate (on a happy occasion, esp. face-to-face)

Examples

  • ，道喜。
    Tīng shuō nǐ ér zi jié hūn le, wǒ lái gěi nǐ dào xǐ.
    I heard your son got married — I've come to congratulate you.
  • ，道喜。
    Tā shēng le hái zi, tóng shì men fēn fēn shàng mén dào xǐ.
    After he had a baby, his colleagues came to his home one after another to congratulate him.
  • ，。
    Péng you shēng zhí le, wǒ dé qù dào gè xǐ.
    My friend got a promotion — I need to go and say a word of congratulations.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

道dàoexpress
喜xǐjoy

道 (express) + 喜 (joy) means to offer congratulations.

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
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →

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 →

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