hei2喜
Jyutpinghei2
Yalehéi
Definition
Happy, delighted, or joyous.
neutralemotion
How it's used
Unlike the everyday word 開心, 喜 is a bound morpheme that rarely stands alone in modern spoken Cantonese. It is primarily found in formal compounds, set phrases, or literary contexts. You will mostly encounter it in words related to celebrations or positive emotions, such as 喜事 or 歡喜.
Examples
Seeing you so happy, I am also very delighted.
Today is a joyous occasion, let's all have a drink.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not attempt to use 喜 as a standalone adjective to describe your feelings, as it will sound unnatural or archaic. Always use 開心 for daily conversation.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
