嬉しい
Meaning in Englishto be happy; to be glad
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
What does 嬉しい mean? It expresses a feeling of happiness or pleasure in response to good news or a favorable outcome, used to convey personal joy in everyday situations across casual and polite speech.
Main meanings
- to feel happiness or pleasure when something favorable occurs
- to be pleased by someone's gesture or a positive outcome
- in casual speech 嬉しい is common; in polite speech 嬉しいです or 嬉しかったです show respect
How to use it
Used to express happiness in response to positive events, gifts, praise, or favorable outcomes; employed in both casual conversations and formal settings when paired with です or だ; common verb forms include 嬉しい, 嬉しかった, 嬉しくない, and 嬉しくて to connect a reason.
Variants and close terms
- 喜ばしい (yorokobashii) — joyous, pleasing
- 嬉しさ (ureshisa) — happiness (noun)
- 楽しい (tanoshii) — fun, enjoyable
- 悲しい (kanashii) — sad
Composition
- 嬉: conveys joy, delight
- しい: adjective suffix forming i-adjectives that describe states
Etymology
Etymology from classical Japanese うれし, later written with the kanji 嬉 for modern usage; the reading is kun'yomi and the word developed as an i-adjective.
Origin
Origins trace back to classical Japanese where the form うれし appeared; later the kanji 嬉 was adopted in modern writing to represent the same sound and meaning.
Word class
adjective (い形容詞)