HSK Level 3

happy; laugh; cheerful

Mobile & Tablet App

Master with Writing Practice

Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.

Step-by-step stroke order animations

Native speaker audio pronunciation

Interactive writing recognition

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Character writing practice in mobile app

Example Sentences

我很乐意见到你。

wǒ hěn lè yì jiàn dào nǐ .

I'd be happy to see you.

他感觉很快乐。

tā gǎn jué hěn kuài lè .

He feels happy.

我们玩得很欢乐。

wǒ mén wán dé hěn huān lè .

We had a lot of fun.

Synonyms

高兴 (gāo xìng)

happy

快乐 (kuài lè)

joyful

Antonyms

(bēi)

sad

(kǔ)

bitter

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 乐 (lè) is composed of two parts: the radical 忄(xīn), which represents the heart or mind, and the phonetic component 嶽 (yuè), which represents a mountain peak. The character 乐 originally meant "to be happy" or "to enjoy oneself". In ancient times, people believed that the heart was the seat of emotions, and that the mountain peak was a place where one could be close to the gods and experience a sense of joy and fulfillment. Over time, the meaning of 乐 expanded to include a wider range of positive emotions, such as happiness, joy, pleasure, and delight. Today, 乐 is used in a variety of contexts to express feelings of happiness and enjoyment. For example, it can be used to describe the feeling of being in love, the joy of spending time with friends and family, or the pleasure of listening to music or watching a movie. 乐 is also used in the names of many Chinese festivals and holidays, such as the Spring Festival (春节) and the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节), which are times when people come together to celebrate and enjoy themselves.