兴奋

• Pinyin: xīng fèn
• Hanzi breakdown: 兴 = pictograph of hands raising an object together; 奋 = 大 (big) + 田 (field) + 衣 (clothing, phonetic)

Meaning

Excited; thrilled; in a state of heightened emotional arousal.

Describes a strong feeling of excitement or stimulation, either emotional (thrilled about good news) or physical (stimulated by caffeine). Can be used as an adjective (感到兴奋) or verb (让人兴奋). Often paired with 紧张 (nervous) in contexts of anticipation.

Examples

1. 听说明天可以去游乐园，孩子们都非常兴奋，晚上睡不着觉。 Hearing that they could go to the amusement park tomorrow, the children were all so excited they couldn't sleep at night.
2. 她第一次出国旅行，感到既紧张又兴奋，一路上话特别多。 It was her first time travelling abroad, and she felt both nervous and excited, talking non-stop the whole way.
3. 球队赢得了比赛，球迷们兴奋地欢呼，有人高兴得流下了眼泪。 The team won the match and fans cheered excitedly; some were so happy they shed tears.

Usage Guide

Context: emotions, everyday, sports

Tone: energetic

Do Say

• 他听到录取通知书的消息时，兴奋得跳了起来。(When he heard about the acceptance letter, he was so excited he jumped up.)
• 这部电影的结局让观众非常兴奋。(The ending of this film got the audience very excited.)

Don't Say

• 用兴奋描述负面情绪，如他对失败感到兴奋。(Don't use 兴奋 for negative emotional states — it always implies a positive surge of feeling.)

Origin & History

Compound of 兴 (rise/flourish) and 奋 (exert/stir), together conveying a surge of energetic emotion.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal