xǐ喜joychū出exceedwàng望expectationwài外outside
overjoyed; pleasantly surprised
Literal meaning
joy (喜) — exceed (出) — expectation (望) — outside (外)
Origin
A classical four-character phrase describing unexpected joy.
Examples
Tīng听dào到zhè这ge个xiāo消xi息，tā他xǐ喜chū出wàng望wài外。
Hearing this news, he was overjoyed.
Wǒ我xǐ喜chū出wàng望wài外de地shōu收dào到le了lǐ礼wù物。
I was pleasantly surprised to receive the gift.
Usage & nuances
Describes a feeling of unexpected happiness.
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