Meaning of 乐
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- happy
- cheerful
- to laugh
- surname Le
- music
- used in place names
How to use 乐
As a verb, 乐 (lè) often means to laugh or be amused, especially in casual speech. It also appears in many common words like 快乐 (kuàilè) happy and 音乐 (yīnyuè) music. Example: 他听了这个笑话就乐了。(Tā tīng le zhège xiàohua jiù lè le.) He laughed when he heard the joke.
Think of 乐 as a little stringed instrument on a stand: the top strokes are the frame and the hook below is the stand. Music played on it makes people happy, so the same character means both music, yuè, and joy, lè.
Common mistake: Learners often read every 乐 as lè, but in music words like 音乐 (yīnyuè) and 乐队 (yuèduì) it is yuè. A good rule: if the word is about music, say yuè. If it is about happiness or fun, say lè.
乐 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
乐 lè · happy · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 乐.
| 音乐 | yīnyuè | music |
| 快乐 | kuàilè | happy; joyful |
| 音乐会 | yīnyuèhuì | concert |
| 乐队 | yuèduì | band; pop group |
| 欢乐 | huānlè | gaiety; gladness |
| 可乐 | kělè | amusing; entertaining |
| 乐观 | lèguān | optimistic; hopeful |
| 乐趣 | lèqù | delight; pleasure; joy |
| 俱乐部 | jùlèbù | (loanword) club (the organization or its premises) |
| 娱乐 | yúlè | to entertain; to amuse |
| 乐曲 | yuèqǔ | musical composition |
| 乐意 | lèyì | to be willing to do sth; to be ready to do sth |
Questions about 乐
What does 乐 mean?
乐 (lè) means "happy; cheerful" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 乐?
乐 is made of 1 character: 乐 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 乐 an HSK word?
Yes. 乐 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 乐 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 乐 is written 樂.
Is the 乐 in 可乐 (Coca-Cola) read lè or yuè?
It is read lè, so 可乐 is kělè. The word originally means amusing, and it was chosen for the cola brand because it sounds close and has a pleasant meaning.
What is the difference between 快乐 and 高兴?
快乐 (kuàilè) describes a general state of happiness and is used in greetings like 生日快乐 (shēngrì kuàilè) happy birthday. 高兴 (gāoxìng) more often describes feeling glad about something specific right now, as in 见到你很高兴 (nice to meet you).