Explore 喜 through the act of rejoicing and the feeling of joy. Learn each reading with a whole word and a situation.

The idea

喜 has 12 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. 喜ぶ（よろこぶ） is a verb meaning to rejoice, while 喜び（よろこび） is a noun meaning joy. In compounds, 喜 can be read き, as in 喜劇（きげき, comedy）.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingMeaning in context
喜ぶよろこぶMy mother was delighted with the gift.
喜びよろこびPlease share the joy with your family.
喜んでよろこんでThe children greeted their teacher with joy.
嬉しいうれしいI am happy to see you.

Examples

  • あなたに会あえて嬉うれしいです。I am happy to see you.
  • 母はははプレゼントを喜よろこびました。My mother was delighted with the gift.
  • みんなは勝利しょうりの知しらせを喜よろこびました。Everyone rejoiced at the news of the victory.
  • 喜よろこびを家族かぞくと分わかち合あってください。Please share the joy with your family.
  • 子こどもたちは喜よろこんで先生せんせいを迎むかえました。The children greeted their teacher with joy.
  • 彼女かのじょの成功せいこうの知しらせは友達ともだちに喜よろこびをもたらしました。The news of her success brought joy to her friends.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

喜ぶ describes rejoicing; 嬉しい（うれしい） is an adjective meaning happy. They share a theme but have different spellings and grammar: say プレゼントを喜ぶ, but プレゼントが嬉しい.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 喜ぶ in hiragana.

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    よろこぶ

    喜ぶ is よろこぶ: the verb describes rejoicing, as when someone is pleased with a gift.

  2. Write the reading of 喜び in hiragana.

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    よろこび

    喜び is よろこび: this noun names the joy that can be shared.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿ぶ（よろこぶ）［喜／嬉］.

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    喜

    喜 completes 喜ぶ（よろこぶ）. 嬉 belongs to 嬉しい, not this verb.

Use it today

Write 喜 following the diagram. Cover the readings, read 喜ぶ and 喜び aloud, then describe a happy event with one of them.