Daily Mandarin Lesson Happy in Chinese

There are many ways to say happy in Chinese. Like with English, Chinese words have synonyms so that conversation doesnt get too repetitive. Here are the four ways you can say happy in Chinese along with examples of how to use the term. Audio files are marked with ââ€" º. é «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´ (gÄ o xà ¬ng)   To describe a state of feeling happy in the moment, you would use the term é «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´. é «Ëœ (g Ä o) means high, while  Ã¥â€¦ ´ (xà ¬ng) has a variety of meanings depending on the context, ranging from interest to flourish. For an example of when to use é «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´, you could say:   Ã¥ Æ'ä ºâ€ Ã¨ ¿â„¢Ã© ¡ ¿Ã§ ¾Å½Ã¥â€˜ ³Ã§Å¡â€žÃ© ¥ ­Ã¥ Å½Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã© «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´ (chÄ « le zhà ¨ dà ¹n mÄ›i wà ¨i de fà  n hà ²u, wÇ’ hÄ›n gÄ oxà ¬ng): After eating this delicious meal, I am happy When expressing pleasure at meeting someone, you would use the term é «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´. For example: 我å ¾Ë†Ã© «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´Ã¨ ® ¤Ã¨ ¯â€ Ã¤ ½   (wÇ’ hÄ›n gÄ o xà ¬ng rà ¨n shi nÇ ):  It was nice to meet you Ã¥ ¼â‚¬Ã¥ ¿Æ' ( kÄ i xÄ «n) Ã¥ ¼â‚¬ (kÄ i) means open, while Ã¥ ¿Æ' (xÄ «n)means heart. While Ã¥ ¼â‚¬Ã¥ ¿Æ' and  Ã© «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´ are used in very similar ways, it can be argued that Ã¥ ¼â‚¬Ã¥ ¿Æ' is used more as a way to describe a state of mind or character trait. For example, you could say  Ã¥ ¥ ¹Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã¥ ¼â‚¬Ã¥ ¿Æ' (tÄ  hÄ›n kÄ i xÄ «n) which means she is very happy.   But in terms of meeting people, you would not use  Ã¥ ¼â‚¬Ã¥ ¿Æ'. For instance,  Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã© «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´Ã¨ ® ¤Ã¨ ¯â€ Ã¤ ½   is a standard phrase meaning It was nice to meet you. You would never hear someone say 我å ¾Ë†Ã¥ ¼â‚¬Ã¥ ¿Æ'è ® ¤Ã¨ ¯â€ Ã¤ ½  . Ã¥ ¹ ¸Ã§ ¦  (xà ¬ng fà º)   While  Ã© «ËœÃ¥â€¦ ´ describes a momentary or a shorter state of happiness, Ã¥ ¹ ¸Ã§ ¦  (xà ¬ng fà º)  describes a longer or continual state of being happy. It can also mean to bless or blessing. The first character  Ã¥ ¹ ¸ means lucky, while the second character  Ã§ ¦  means fortune. Here are examples of  when to use the term  Ã¥ ¹ ¸Ã§ ¦ : ç ¥  ä ½  Ã¤ » ¬ Ã¥ ® ¶Ã¥ º ­Ã‚  Ã¥ ¹ ¸Ã§ ¦  (zhà ¹ nÇ  men jiÄ  tà ­ng xà ¬ng fà º): Wishing your family blessings. Ã¥ ¦â€šÃ¦Å¾Å"ä ½  Ã§ »â€œÃ¥ ©Å¡Ã¥ ¦Ë†Ã¥ ¦Ë†Ã¤ ¼Å¡Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã¥ ¹ ¸Ã§ ¦  ( rà º guÇ’ nÇ  jià © hÃ… «n, mÄ  mÄ  huà ¬ hÄ›n xà ¬ngfà º): If you were to marry, mom would be so happy. Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹  (kuà  i là ¨) Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹  can also be written in the traditional form as Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¦ ¨â€š. The first character Ã¥ ¿ « (kuà  i) means fast, quick, or swift. The second character ä ¹  or æ ¨â€š (là ¨) translates to happy, laugh, cheerful, and can also be a surname. The phrase is pronounced ââ€" ºkuà  i là ¨, and both characters are in the fourth tone (kuai4 le4).  This term for happy is also commonly used to wish people happiness during celebrations or festivals.   Here are common examples of  Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹  being used in a sentence: ââ€" ºTÄ  guà ² dehÄ›n kuà  ilà ¨.Ã¥ ¥ ¹Ã© Å½Ã¥ ¾â€"Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¦ ¨â€šÃ¥ ¥ ¹Ã¨ ¿â€¡Ã¥ ¾â€"Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹ She is happy with her life.ââ€" ºXÄ «n nià ¡n kuà  i là ¨.æâ€" °Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¦ ¨â€šÃ¦â€" °Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã¥ ¿ «Ã¤ ¹ Happy New Year.