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歡 — pronunciations, definitions, and tags
HanziPinyinEnglishTags
歡huānhappy, glad, joyfulx, 22 strokes, radical 欠
huān(huan1)huan T1
  1. 1happy, glad, joyful
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March 24, 2026

歡huān(huan1)

歡 (huān) means happy, glad, or joyful. It is often used to express feelings of happiness in various contexts, such as celebrating an event or enjoying a moment. This character can also appear in phrases that convey a sense of welcome or joy.

Strokes22Radical欠
Cultural note

The concept of happiness is significant in Chinese culture, especially during festivals like the Lunar New Year, where expressions of joy, such as '欢欢喜喜', are common. Celebratory gatherings often emphasize collective happiness.

Memory tip

Imagine a person jumping for joy in a garden filled with flowers (the character has a joyful shape). The left part resembles a person with arms raised in happiness, and the right part can be seen as a garden (the '欢' part), helping you remember that 'huān' means happy.

Meanings of 歡

huān(huan1)
1happy, glad, joyful
Exercise 1 of 2

By ear

Play it, then pick what 歡 means.

About 歡

歡Simplified
22Strokes
欠Radical
非语素字non-morpheme character (n-m.)Part of Speech
#—Frequency Rank

Podcast: 歡

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Podcast: 歡

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AI study notes for 歡

Quick Contrast

喜 (xǐ) — use 歡 when expressing joy in a broader or more celebratory context, while 喜 is more commonly used for personal happiness or liking something.

Usage Notes

Be cautious with the tone when pronouncing '欢'; it is pronounced with a high flat tone (first tone). Common collocations include '欢喜' (huānxǐ) meaning to be glad and '欢庆' (huānqìng) meaning to celebrate. It’s typically used in both formal and informal contexts.

HSK Study Tips

Although not part of HSK levels, '欢' connects with other emotions and feelings learned at beginner levels. Focus on using it with adjectives and verbs to express feelings, such as '欢笑' (huānxiào, to laugh joyfully).

Common Mistakes

Learners often confuse '欢' with '欢喜', using them interchangeably. For example, saying '我欢这个消息' (I happy this news) is incorrect; it should be '我欢喜这个消息'.

AI-enhanced 2026-03-24

Pronunciation of 歡

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Etymology of 歡

Formation typepictophonetic
六书 ClassificationPhono-semantic (形声字)~80-90% of characters
Explanation

Simplified form of 歡. Phonosemantic compound. 欠 represents the meaning and 雚 represents the sound. 欠 (yawn) is a pictograph of a person with an open mouth. Likely used here to represent a person joyfully laughing.

Memory hint

breathe

Semantic (meaning)欠
+
Phonetic (sound)雚
Learn more about Phono-semantic (形声字) characters
Exercise 1 of 1

Origin

歡 = 欠 + 雚. What kind of character does that make it?

Decomposition of 歡

IDS Structure⿰雚欠
歡Full character
=
雚guan4
left
欠qian4
right
Exercise 1 of 2

Parts

Which of these is part of 歡?

How to say happy, glad, joyful in Chinese

“happy, glad, joyful” in Chinese is歡huān

歡 (huān) means happy, glad, or joyful. It is often used to express feelings of happiness in various contexts, such as celebrating an event or enjoying a moment. This character can also appear in phrases that convey a sense of welcome or joy.

When to use 歡

Be cautious with the tone when pronouncing '欢'; it is pronounced with a high flat tone (first tone). Common collocations include '欢喜' (huānxǐ) meaning to be glad and '欢庆' (huānqìng) meaning to celebrate. It’s typically used in both formal and informal contexts.

歡 or something close to it

喜 (xǐ) — use 歡 when expressing joy in a broader or more celebratory context, while 喜 is more commonly used for personal happiness or liking something.

What learners get wrong

Learners often confuse '欢' with '欢喜', using them interchangeably. For example, saying '我欢这个消息' (I happy this news) is incorrect; it should be '我欢喜这个消息'.

Write 歡

歡

Practice writing 歡 stroke by stroke. Watch the animation to learn the stroke order, then try writing it yourself.

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Word Family of 歡

Words containing this character20
喜欢xǐhuanto like喜歡
欢迎huānyíngto welcome歡迎
欢乐huānlègaiety歡樂
欢huānjoyous歡
狂欢kuánghuānparty狂歡
欢呼huānhūto cheer for歡呼
欢喜happy歡喜
欢笑to laugh happily歡笑
欢快huānkuàilively歡快
联欢liánhuānparty聯歡
欢庆to celebrate歡慶
欢心favor歡心
欢送to see off歡送
新欢new flame新歡
欢欣鼓舞elated and excited (idiom); overjoyed歡欣鼓舞
皆大欢喜As You Like It, comedy by Shakespeare皆大歡喜
欢度to celebrate歡度
欢腾jubilation歡騰
欢聚一堂to gather happily under one roof歡聚一堂
联欢会party聯歡會
Exercise 1 of 4

Words with 歡

What does 喜欢 mean?

Frequently asked questions about 歡

'欢' can be used in sentences like '我很欢喜这个消息' (I am very happy about this news).

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