喜怒无常
喜怒无常 (xǐ nù wú cháng) literally means “joy and anger without constancy” and expresses “be moody; have unpredictable emotions”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving relationships and character.
Also searched as: xi nu wu chang, xi nu wu chang,喜怒无常 meaning, 喜怒无常 in english
Be moody; have unpredictable emotions
Pronunciation: xǐ nù wú cháng Literal meaning: Joy and anger without constancy
Origin & Usage
Joy (喜) and anger (怒) with no (无) regularity (常). 常 is the constant, what can be relied on to stay the same, so the complaint is not about strong feeling but about the absence of any rule connecting the feeling to its cause. That is what makes the phrase name a hazard rather than a personality: what cannot be predicted cannot be worked around. Chinese used it of rulers historically and now of bosses and of a parent, and the sympathy is always with the people nearby.
Examples
English: "Working for someone with unpredictable moods is exhausting."
Chinese: 为一个喜怒无常的人工作令人精疲力竭。
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about relationships & character
喜笑颜开
xǐ xiào yán kāi
Be beaming with joy
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喜出望外
xǐ chū wàng wài
Overjoyed; pleasantly surprised
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喜闻乐见
xǐ wén lè jiàn
Enjoyed by all; universally popular
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怒不可遏
nù bù kě è
Be furious beyond control
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变化无常
biàn huà wú cháng
Unpredictable nature
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反复无常
fǎn fù wú cháng
Unpredictable behavior
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心花怒放
xīn huā nù fàng
Extreme joy
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姑息养奸
gū xī yǎng jiān
Leniency encourages worse behavior
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 喜怒无常 mean in English?
喜怒无常 (xǐ nù wú cháng) literally translates to “Joy and anger without constancy” and is used to express “Be moody; have unpredictable emotions”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Relationships & Character category.
When is 喜怒无常 used?
Situation: Working for someone with unpredictable moods is exhausting.
What is the pinyin for 喜怒无常?
The pinyin pronunciation for 喜怒无常 is “xǐ nù wú cháng”.