8 Joyful Chinese Idioms for New Baby Congratulations

Ruin by adding extras

Literal: Draw snake add feet

The ancient parable tells of an artist who lost a wine-drinking contest because he spent extra time adding legs to his snake drawing (画蛇添足). The story entered common usage during the Han Dynasty as a warning against ruining sufficiency through unnecessary additions. Today it reminds us how overelabo...

Leniency encourages worse behavior

Literal: Tolerate evil, nurture harm

This enabling idiom describes temporarily tolerating (姑息) problems and thereby nurturing (养) future harm (奸), originating from Han Dynasty governmental warnings. It first appeared in administrative texts cautioning against short-term appeasement of problems that would grow more serious if not proper...

Overjoyed; pleasantly surprised

Literal: Joy exceeding expectations

This idiom describes joy (喜) that goes beyond (出) one's expectations (望外). It captures the special quality of pleasant surprises that exceed what one hoped for or anticipated. The phrase appeared in Song Dynasty literature describing characters receiving unexpectedly good news. The emotional intensi...

Enjoyed by all; universally popular

Literal: Happy to hear delighted to see

This idiom describes being happy (喜) to hear (闻) and delighted (乐) to see (见). It characterizes things that please audiences through both auditory and visual channels. The phrase appeared in texts discussing popular entertainment and public communication. It represents widespread appeal that transce...

Add to one's strength; become even more powerful

Literal: Like tiger adding wings

This idiom describes being like a tiger (如虎) that adds (添) wings (翼). A tiger is already formidable; with wings, it becomes unstoppable. The phrase describes adding capabilities to something already powerful. It appeared in texts describing reinforcements to already strong positions. Modern usage de...

Be pleasantly surprised

Literal: Joy beyond expectation

This idiom describes joy (喜) that goes beyond (出) what one hoped for (望外). It captures the delight of receiving something better than expected. The phrase appeared in texts describing moments of unexpected good fortune that exceeded all hopes. Modern usage describes pleasant surprises, windfalls, an...

Be moody; have unpredictable emotions

Literal: Joy and anger without constancy

This idiom describes having joy (喜) and anger (怒) without (无) consistency (常). It depicts someone whose emotions are unpredictable and volatile. The phrase appeared in historical texts describing capricious rulers whose moods endangered their subjects. Modern usage describes moody, emotionally unsta...

Be beaming with joy

Literal: Happy smile, face opens up

This idiom describes being so happy (喜) that one smiles (笑) and the face (颜) opens up (开). It captures the physical transformation that genuine joy brings to facial expression. The phrase depicts pure happiness visible in one's countenance. Modern usage describes obvious happiness that shows clearly...