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

HSK 2

别太得意扬扬，下次可能就不一样了。

Bié tài déyì-yángyáng, xiàcì kěnéng jiù bùyīyàng le.

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

HSK 3

他考了第一名，得意扬扬地走出教室。

Tā kǎo le dìyī míng, déyì-yángyáng de zǒu chū jiàoshì.

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

HSK 7-9

她得意扬扬地炫耀自己的新手机。

Tā déyì-yángyáng de xuànyào zìjǐ de xīn shǒujī.

She smugly showed off her new phone.

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