不亦乐乎 / 不亦樂乎

bù​yì​lè​hū

isn't it a joy?

literary; originally from the "Analects" of Confucius, used as a rhetorical question to express delight

不亦 (literal) → 不亦 · bù​yì · isn't it truly 乐 (literal) → 乐/樂 · lè · pleasure 乎 (literal) → 乎 · hū · [final particle]

Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:57 PM

不亦乐乎 / 不亦樂乎

bù​yì​lè​hū

extremely

(jocular) to an extreme degree; awfully; used after [[得|得|de5]] to describe reaching a peak intensity of an action or state

bú​yì​lè​hū

不亦 (literal) → 不亦 · bù​yì · isn't it truly 乐 (literal) → 乐/樂 · lè · pleasure 乎 (literal) → 乎 · hū · [final particle]

Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:57 PM