Wanyu · 万语 Español

兴xìng高gāo采cǎi烈liè

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tīng说shuō周zhōu末mò要yào去qù海hǎi边biān,孩hái子zi们men都dōu兴xìng高gāo采cǎi烈liè地de收shōu拾shi起qǐ了le行xíng李li。

    When they heard they were going to the beach that weekend, the kids gleefully started packing their bags.

  • 球qiú队duì赢yíng了le比bǐ赛sài,球qiú迷mí们men兴xìng高gāo采cǎi烈liè地de走zǒu出chū了le体tǐ育yù馆guǎn。

    The team won the match, and the fans walked out of the arena elated.

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