Meaning
欣喜 expresses a feeling of genuine joy and delight, often in response to good news or a positive outcome. It conveys a deeper, more heartfelt happiness than casual words like 高兴, typically used in formal or literary contexts. The word combines 欣 (joy, admiration) and 喜 (happiness, delight) to emphasize sincere elation.
Usage
欣喜 appears more frequently in written Chinese, news reports, and formal speech than in everyday casual conversation. Native speakers often use it to describe emotional reactions to significant positive events, achievements, or reunions. It commonly appears in the pattern 欣喜若狂 (wild with joy) or paired with other formal expressions of emotion.
Examples
- 01听到考试通过的消息，她欣喜万分。, .Upon hearing the news that she passed the exam, she was extremely delighted.
- 02多年未见的老友重逢，大家都欣喜不已。, .When old friends who hadn't seen each other for years reunited, everyone was overjoyed.
Characters
Common collocations
- 欣喜若狂wild with joy, ecstatic
- 感到欣喜to feel delighted
- 欣喜万分extremely delighted
- 无比欣喜incomparably happy
Antonyms
Origin
Both characters relate to happiness and joy. 欣 originally depicted a person opening their mouth in joy or admiration, while 喜 shows a drum and mouth, representing celebration and voiced happiness. Together they form an intensified expression of delight.