喜怒哀乐

喜怒哀樂
xǐnù-āilè
idiom HSK 7-9 #33,288

Meanings

  1. 1 joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness; the full range of emotions

Characters

Four basic emotions bundled into one phrase - the Chinese way of saying 'the full spectrum of human feelings.'

Examples

HSK 3
Tā xǐnù-āilè dōu xiě zài liǎnshàng.
All his emotions show on his face.
HSK 5
Rénshēng chōngmǎn le xǐnù-āilè.
Life is full of joys and sorrows.

Tips

culture
This set of four emotions comes from the Confucian classic 《中庸》 (Doctrine of the Mean). Interestingly, 喜 and 乐 are both positive emotions but subtly different - 喜 is excited delight (from an event), while 乐 is contentment/pleasure (a state of being).

Stroke Order

喜 xǐ
怒 nù
哀 āi
乐 lè