喜欢 meaning in English
to like; to be fond of; to be happy; to be pleased
Meaning of 喜欢
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to like; to be fond of
- to be happy; to be pleased
- to tend to
How to use 喜欢
喜欢 is the everyday word for liking people, things, or activities. It can take a noun or a whole verb phrase after it. Example: 我喜欢喝茶。(Wǒ xǐhuan hē chá.) I like drinking tea.
Both characters mean joy: 喜 (xǐ) is the happiness you see in 恭喜 (gōngxǐ), and 欢 (huān) is the gladness in 欢乐 (huānlè). Put two kinds of joy together and you get the feeling of liking something.
Common mistake: Learners often say 我很喜欢 without an object. In Chinese you usually need to name what you like, as in 我很喜欢这本书 (Wǒ hěn xǐhuan zhè běn shū). Also note that 欢 is normally said in the neutral tone in 喜欢, so it sounds like xǐhuan, not xǐhuān.
喜欢 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.
喜 xǐ · to love · 12 strokes
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欢 huān · happy · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 喜欢.
| 欢迎 | huānyíng | to welcome; welcome |
| 欢乐 | huānlè | gaiety; gladness |
| 喜爱 | xǐ'ài | to like; to love |
| 喜剧 | xǐjù | a comedy |
| 惊喜 | jīngxǐ | nice surprise; to be pleasantly surprised |
| 恭喜 | gōngxǐ | to congratulate; (interj.) congratulations! |
| 狂欢 | kuánghuān | party; carousal |
| 欢呼 | huānhū | to cheer for; to acclaim |
| 喜悦 | xǐyuè | happy; joyous |
| 喜好 | xǐhào | to like; fond of |
| 讨人喜欢 | tǎo rén xǐhuan | to attract people's affection; charming |
| 狂欢节 | kuánghuānjié | carnival |
Questions about 喜欢
What does 喜欢 mean?
喜欢 (xǐhuan) means "to like; to be fond of; to be happy; to be pleased" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 喜欢?
喜欢 is made of 2 characters: 喜 (12 strokes), 欢 (6 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 喜欢 an HSK word?
Yes. 喜欢 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 喜欢 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 喜欢 is written 喜歡.
What is the difference between 喜欢 and 爱?
喜欢 (xǐhuan) means to like and is light and everyday. 爱 (ài) means to love and is much stronger, especially when said about a person. Saying 我喜欢你 to someone is a common way to confess a crush, while 我爱你 is a deeper statement.
How do I say I don't like something with 喜欢?
Put 不 (bù) in front: 我不喜欢吃辣的。(Wǒ bù xǐhuan chī là de.) I don't like spicy food. To ask a question, you can say 你喜欢不喜欢? (Nǐ xǐhuan bu xǐhuan?) or 你喜欢吗? (Nǐ xǐhuan ma?).