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高兴 (gāo xìng) — happy, glad; willing (to do something)

Definition

高兴 is the basic 'happy, glad' feeling — like 开心 but more common, and more formal/literary than 快乐. It also means 'willing to do something' (我不高兴去 = I'm not willing to go), unlike 愿意 which is a verb specifically for willingness.

adjective
happygladwilling (to do something)

Examples

  • 高兴。
    Tā men dōu gāo xìng.
    They are all happy.
  • 高兴？
    Nǐ gāo xìng ma?
    Are you happy?
  • 高兴。
    Wǒ bù gāo xìng qù.
    I am not willing to go.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

高gāohigh
兴xīngspirits

高 gives 'high' and 兴 gives 'spirits', so the word means having high spirits, i.e., happy.

Characters in this word

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

高 was drawn as a tall building.

Open 高 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 興; 兴 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 興 shows four hands lifting an object; the simplified 兴 is not the form described.

Open 兴 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 1500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 11000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsEmotions & Feelings2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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