乐于助人

Pronunciation: lè yú zhù rén Literal meaning: Happy to help people

Origin & Usage

To take pleasure (乐于) in helping people (助人). The phrase is modern and has no classical source, though the idea it names is old: the fuller form 助人为乐 makes the claim explicit, that the helping is itself the reward rather than a means to one. The grammatical point is 乐于, "to find joy in" — it marks the motive, and it is what separates this phrase from simply being helpful. In practice it is one of the standard commendations in Chinese school reports and civic writing.

Examples

English: "The volunteer spent weekends helping elderly neighbors with home repairs"

Chinese: 这位志愿者利用周末帮助年长邻居修缮房屋