兴高采烈
- Literal
- spirits high, verve ablaze
- Figurative
- Bursting with joy and enthusiasm; in high spirits, elated.
Where does 兴高采烈 come from?
It has a well-documented classical source: in the "Tixing" chapter of his treatise on literary criticism, the 《文心雕龙》(6th century), Liu Xie praised the poet Ji Kang (Shuye) with the line "叔夜俊侠,故兴高而采烈"—"talented and gallant, so his inspiration (兴) ran high and his style (采) was intense (烈)." From that description of a writer's temperament came the idiom, which passed from literary commentary into everyday speech and today is one of the most common expressions for overflowing joy.
Source (出处): 《文心雕龙》
How is 兴高采烈 used? Two examples
- 听说周末要去海边,孩子们都兴高采烈地收拾起了行李。
When they heard they were going to the beach that weekend, the kids gleefully started packing their bags.
- 球队赢了比赛,球迷们兴高采烈地走出了体育馆。
The team won the match, and the fans walked out of the arena elated.