得意扬扬

得意揚揚

déyì-yángyáng

idiom HSK 7-9

Meanings

1 triumphant; smug
2 extremely pleased with oneself
3 elated and self-satisfied

Characters

to obtain; to achieve

intention; meaning; satisfaction

to raise; to display

Having achieved one's wishes and displaying it proudly — smugly triumphant.

Examples

他考了第一名，得意扬扬地走出教室。

Tā kǎo le dìyī míng, déyìyángyáng de zǒu chū jiàoshì.

He scored first place and walked out of the classroom looking smug.

她得意扬扬地炫耀自己的新手机。

Tā déyìyángyáng de xuànyào zìjǐ de xīnshǒu jī.

She smugly showed off her new phone.

别太得意扬扬，下次可能就不一样了。

Bié tài déyìyángyáng, xiàcì kěnéng jiù bùyī yàng le.

Don't be so smug — next time might be different.

Tips

usage

得意扬扬 often carries a mildly negative connotation — it implies someone is overly proud or showing off. The variant 得意洋洋 (déyìyángyáng) uses 洋 instead of 扬 and is equally common.

grammar

Used as an adverbial with 地: 得意扬扬地 + verb. Also used as a predicate: 他很得意扬扬 (less common, 他得意扬扬的 is more natural).

Stroke Order

得 de

意 yì

扬 yáng