<ul>
<li>喜 -> you are happy, in the bottom of your heart, you're smiling, or no actions, though to be honest, you're happy.</li>
<li>乐 -> you are happy, behaved outside your body, you're laughing, etc.</li>
</ul>

<p>You can pretend to be 乐, but you can hardly pretend to be 喜. You can easily find someone 乐 but you cannot find someone 喜. That's why this word is seldom used. Here's a word 喜欢 which means 'like'. 欢 is happier than 乐, you may dance, sing and jump. Thus this word means "when you see this, you are 喜 and 欢", so this word means 'like'. In the ancient time, 喜欢 can also be written as 欢喜, but in modern Chinese 欢喜 only refers to an emotion.</p>

<p>快乐 is the same as 乐, while 喜乐 is happiness, joy.</p>

<p>When 喜 and 乐 are together, you're REALLY happy (not only 喜 but also 乐), you are laughing loudly, or other actions, for example, your emotion after you win a lottery ($999999999999999).</p>

<p>I don't agree that 喜乐 is 喜悦, because 乐 refers to music when 乐 is pronounced as yue4.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-08T04:21:44.823Z
2013-02-08T04:27:46.260Z
2013-02-08T04:27:46.260Z
Mike Manilone
<p>i did a quick search: <a href="https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=%E5%96%9C%E4%B9%90&amp;oq=%E5%96%9C%E4%B9%90&amp;aqs=chrome.0.57&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=%E5%96%9C%E4%B9%90&amp;oq=%E5%96%9C%E4%B9%90&amp;aqs=chrome.0.57&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8</a></p>

<p>喜乐 is common in the bible, we can deduce from sentences, it means 喜悦+快乐.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-14T12:27:37.440Z
2013-06-14T12:27:37.440Z
Scott混合理论
<p>乐 of "快乐" : [1]:乐&lt;- - - [1a]: It's a simplfied Chinese writing;   while 
樂 &lt; - - - [1b]: this one Traditional Chinese writing.</p>

<p>[2]: the vey oiginal meaning of 樂  ::   total of 樂  made of 3 patrs / components:
[2a]:  2 "ㄠ" : these 2 ㄠ = 系 ::   窗簾的 蕾絲 = 窗帘的蕾丝 = Lace;   the lowest-portiong of curtains. so. it's image/graph similar to "sum of strings".</p>

<p>[2b]: 白 : it's an image/graph  the same as your 1st finge: thumb.= 拇指</p>

<p>[2c]: lowest paotion: 木.   indicate a wood-made musical instrument.  </p>

<p>[3]:  violin = 弦琴, 弧琴:  these musical instrument played by human-being's THUMB. </p>

<p>[4]: [1a+1c] = [ strings + wood ] = violin, or any Chinese 弦琴, 弧琴</p>

<p>[5]: { [1b]= THUMB ) + [4] } = when during human play music. they feel "HAPPY".</p>

<p>[6]: finally, 樂 = happhy.</p>

<p>to learn Chinese, when you see "simplified 乐" you can not link into [5];
you have to learn 樂 this taditional Chinese writing to get the image:
human play music , then get the feeling : HAPPY.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-20T00:01:52.737Z
This is interesting information, but it has nothing to do with the question!
congusbongus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-08T00:58:50.430Z
2013-06-08T00:58:50.430Z
Max Lu
<p>I think what you mean is 喜悦 not 喜乐 though 乐 can also be pronounced as yuè . This is how I differentiate the two:</p>

<ul>
<li>喜悦(xǐ yuè) is a passionate feeling of joy. This is usually
expressed in the form of a smile.</li>
<li>快乐(kuài lè) is a pleasant emotional response due to an external
stimuli. This is usually expressed in the form of laughter.</li>
</ul>

<p>快乐 is more obvious than 喜悦.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-20T21:43:01.877Z
Actually I have to contradict you there. The 乐 in 喜乐 is pronounced as expected, which is lè. It wouldn't make any sense for it to be pronounced yuè as its meaning would change completely (it'd be "happy music" which is really a sum of parts compound). Here is the entry for it on zdic.net: http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/12/ZdicE5Zdic96Zdic9C114284.htm. 喜乐 is a much rarer compound than 喜悦, that much I agree, but I have been able to find citations of it in various written texts online. I've included one example in my comment reply on the question.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-22T07:25:39.370Z
@JamesJiao, I am just pointing out what the OP could have meant based on the meaning (delighted, happiness, joy) that he wrote in his question and his request for a comparison with 快乐. Never did I suggest 喜乐 does not exist or that 喜乐 is 喜悦. If he understood what 喜乐 means and its usage, then in all likelihood, he wouldn't be asking for a comparison. In this case, I felt that it is more useful to introduce him to 喜悦 than to answer exactly what he wants.
杨以轩
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-07T13:35:45.517Z
2013-02-07T15:42:10.643Z
2013-02-07T15:42:10.643Z
杨以轩
<p>Dictionaries lead me to understand 快乐 as happy. Whereas 喜乐 as delighted, happiness, joy. In English joy denotes a stronger, deeper emotion. Is the difference in meanings of 快乐 and 喜乐 great enough to express the same contrast?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-07T13:28:53.033Z
+1. You can look at examples of [快乐](http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=%E5%BF%AB%E4%B9%90) and [喜乐](http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=%E5%96%9C%E4%B9%90) here.
jsj
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-09T05:23:25.350Z
@trideceth12 The examples of 喜乐 are a little “Bible” style. I only see sentences like this in the Chinese version of the Bible. 喜乐 is seldom used now in the Beijing area of China.
fefe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-14T06:07:28.633Z
我从来没见过也没用过“喜乐”这个词，我也十分肯定现在的中国人不会用这个词。
Zhou Heng
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-20T21:36:43.840Z
@Zhou Heng - See 圣经新世界译本 -> 腓立比书1:25 -> "我既然这样深信，就知道仍要住在世间，且与你们众人同住，使你们在所信的道上，又长进又喜乐"。
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-14T13:50:39.543Z
are you sure you doesn't make mistake “喜乐” for "喜悦" ？ We never use "喜乐". It sounds like used in 民国.
JohnsonDiao
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-14T22:22:28.050Z
tao, many people have pointed out that 喜乐 is a much less common word than 喜悦. Was 喜乐 a mistake? Or were you intending to ask about it.
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-19T04:54:28.027Z
I did intend to use ask about it. It was in a text a Chinese friend sent me. I could only find one or two non-Bible references, and had never heard it spoken. Nor could I find it in my thesuarus.
tao
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-14T12:22:12.077Z
@ZhouHeng 估计是安妮宝贝或者郭敬明造出来的，故弄玄虚
Scott混合理论
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-18T03:57:35.997Z
@Scott混合理论 Bullshit. I often hear this word used in preaching in churches.
deutschZuid
<word-choice>
Difference between 喜乐 and 快乐？
# Difference between 喜乐 and 快乐？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-02-07)

Dictionaries lead me to understand 快乐 as happy. Whereas 喜乐 as delighted, happiness, joy. In English joy denotes a stronger, deeper emotion. Is the difference in meanings of 快乐 and 喜乐 great enough to express the same contrast?

**Tags:** word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: +1. You can look at examples of [快乐](http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=%E5%BF%AB%E4%B9%90) and [喜乐](http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=%E5%96%9C%E4%B9%90) here.  
> **username_2**: @trideceth12 The examples of 喜乐 are a little “Bible” style. I only see sentences like this in the Chinese version of the Bible. 喜乐 is seldom used now in the Beijing area of China.  
> **username_3**: 我从来没见过也没用过“喜乐”这个词，我也十分肯定现在的中国人不会用这个词。  
> **username_4**: @username_3 - See 圣经新世界译本 -> 腓立比书1:25 -> "我既然这样深信，就知道仍要住在世间，且与你们众人同住，使你们在所信的道上，又长进又喜乐"。  
> **username_5**: are you sure you doesn't make mistake “喜乐” for "喜悦" ？ We never use "喜乐". It sounds like used in 民国.  
> **username_6**: tao, many people have pointed out that 喜乐 is a much less common word than 喜悦. Was 喜乐 a mistake? Or were you intending to ask about it.  
> **username_0**: I did intend to use ask about it. It was in a text a Chinese friend sent me. I could only find one or two non-Bible references, and had never heard it spoken. Nor could I find it in my thesuarus.  
> **username_7**: @username_3 估计是安妮宝贝或者郭敬明造出来的，故弄玄虚  
> **username_4**: @username_7 Bullshit. I often hear this word used in preaching in churches.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_11 on 2013-02-07. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

I think what you mean is 喜悦 not 喜乐 though 乐 can also be pronounced as yuè . This is how I differentiate the two:

* 喜悦(xǐ yuè) is a passionate feeling of joy. This is usually
  expressed in the form of a smile.
* 快乐(kuài lè) is a pleasant emotional response due to an external
  stimuli. This is usually expressed in the form of laughter.

快乐 is more obvious than 喜悦.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Actually I have to contradict you there. The 乐 in 喜乐 is pronounced as expected, which is lè. It wouldn't make any sense for it to be pronounced yuè as its meaning would change completely (it'd be "happy music" which is really a sum of parts compound). Here is the entry for it on zdic.net: http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/12/ZdicE5Zdic96Zdic9C114284.htm. 喜乐 is a much rarer compound than 喜悦, that much I agree, but I have been able to find citations of it in various written texts online. I've included one example in my comment reply on the question.  
> **username_11**: @JamesJiao, I am just pointing out what the OP could have meant based on the meaning (delighted, happiness, joy) that he wrote in his question and his request for a comparison with 快乐. Never did I suggest 喜乐 does not exist or that 喜乐 is 喜悦. If he understood what 喜乐 means and its usage, then in all likelihood, he wouldn't be asking for a comparison. In this case, I felt that it is more useful to introduce him to 喜悦 than to answer exactly what he wants.  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2013-02-08. Score: 0

* 喜 -> you are happy, in the bottom of your heart, you're smiling, or no actions, though to be honest, you're happy.
* 乐 -> you are happy, behaved outside your body, you're laughing, etc.

You can pretend to be 乐, but you can hardly pretend to be 喜. You can easily find someone 乐 but you cannot find someone 喜. That's why this word is seldom used. Here's a word 喜欢 which means 'like'. 欢 is happier than 乐, you may dance, sing and jump. Thus this word means "when you see this, you are 喜 and 欢", so this word means 'like'. In the ancient time, 喜欢 can also be written as 欢喜, but in modern Chinese 欢喜 only refers to an emotion.

快乐 is the same as 乐, while 喜乐 is happiness, joy.

When 喜 and 乐 are together, you're REALLY happy (not only 喜 but also 乐), you are laughing loudly, or other actions, for example, your emotion after you win a lottery ($999999999999999).

I don't agree that 喜乐 is 喜悦, because 乐 refers to music when 乐 is pronounced as yue4.


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2013-06-14. Score: 0

i did a quick search: <https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=%E5%96%9C%E4%B9%90&oq=%E5%96%9C%E4%B9%90&aqs=chrome.0.57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8>

喜乐 is common in the bible, we can deduce from sentences, it means 喜悦+快乐.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2013-06-08. Score: -1

乐 of "快乐" : [1]:乐<- - - [1a]: It's a simplfied Chinese writing; while
樂 < - - - [1b]: this one Traditional Chinese writing.

[2]: the vey oiginal meaning of 樂 :: total of 樂 made of 3 patrs / components:
[2a]: 2 "ㄠ" : these 2 ㄠ = 系 :: 窗簾的 蕾絲 = 窗帘的蕾丝 = Lace; the lowest-portiong of curtains. so. it's image/graph similar to "sum of strings".

[2b]: 白 : it's an image/graph the same as your 1st finge: thumb.= 拇指

[2c]: lowest paotion: 木. indicate a wood-made musical instrument.

[3]: violin = 弦琴, 弧琴: these musical instrument played by human-being's THUMB.

[4]: [1a+1c] = [ strings + wood ] = violin, or any Chinese 弦琴, 弧琴

[5]: { [1b]= THUMB ) + [4] } = when during human play music. they feel "HAPPY".

[6]: finally, 樂 = happhy.

to learn Chinese, when you see "simplified 乐" you can not link into [5];
you have to learn 樂 this taditional Chinese writing to get the image:
human play music , then get the feeling : HAPPY.

> **Comments:**
> **username_10**: This is interesting information, but it has nothing to do with the question!  

---

