📖 Meaning
Full of joy and happiness, with a cheerful expression or atmosphere that radiates outward. It describes a person beaming with delight or an occasion filled with festive, joyous spirit.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Fan Zhongyan's famous essay 'Record of Yueyang Tower' (岳阳楼记) during the Northern Song Dynasty. In the passage, Fan describes ascending the tower on a fine day, feeling one's mind expand and spirit soar, all honors and disgraces forgotten, as one raises a cup to the wind — utterly filled with joy. The phrase '其喜洋洋者矣' (utterly overflowing with joy) was later condensed into the four-character idiom 喜气洋洋.
💡 Example Usage
春节到了，家家户户喜气洋洋地迎接新年。
With the Spring Festival arriving, every household welcomes the New Year overflowing with joy.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 喜气洋洋
- Pinyin: xǐ qì yáng yáng
- Literal Translation: joy, air, overflowing, overflowing
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4