喜闻乐见

Pronunciation: xǐ wén lè jiàn Literal meaning: Happy to hear delighted to see

Origin & Usage

Glad (喜) to hear (闻) it and pleased (乐) to see (见) it. The two verbs cover the channels an audience receives things through, which is why the phrase attaches so readily to performance and broadcasting. What it claims is not quality but reception — that people actually want the thing — and that makes it a favourite of official and institutional language, where it is used to argue that something worthy is also popular. A learner should hear that institutional tone in it: it is not what one friend says to another about a film.

Examples

English: "This type of entertainment is popular with audiences of all ages."

Chinese: 这类娱乐节目为各年龄段观众所喜闻乐见。