HSK 6 · Emotions

知足常乐 zhīzúchánglè “contentment brings happiness” in Chinese

Traditional 知足常樂

What 知足常乐 means

  1. contentment brings happiness
  2. satisfied with what one has (idiom)

How to say 知足常乐

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale知zhī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale足zú2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale常cháng2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale乐lè4th tone, falling

知足常乐 in a sentence

  1. 谁都知道知足常乐。

    Shéi dōu zhīdao zhīzúchánglè.

    Everyone knows that contentment brings happiness.

    Sentence #333676 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 知足常乐 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 知 (zhī) with each of its parts in a different colour
知zhīto know
  • 矢arrow · shǐSound part
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 矢 (shǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with zhī.

The character 足 (jù) drawn as one shape
足zúfoot; leg

足 is a single shape of 7 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a leg with a foot below: foot. You see it on the left of 跑 (pǎo) “run”, 跳 (tiào) “jump” and 踢 (tī) “kick”.

The character 常 (cháng) with each of its parts in a different colour
常chángalways
  • 尚still · shàngSound part
  • 巾napkin · jīnMeaning part

巾 hints at the meaning (napkin); 尚 (shàng) hints at the sound. Compare it with cháng.

Memory aidCloth 巾 with 尚 (shàng) for the sound. Its first meaning was a skirt; now it means “often, usual”.

The character 乐 (yuè) drawn as one shape
乐lèhappy

乐 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidTraditionally explained as 樂, a musical instrument on a wooden stand 木: music, and the joy it brings.

How to write 知足常乐

知 8 strokes · 足 7 strokes · 常 11 strokes · 乐 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

知足常乐 (zhīzúchánglè) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 知足常乐 (zhīzúchánglè). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 知足常乐

Words with 知

知道zhīdao · to know (a fact)通知tōngzhī · to notify知识zhīshi · knowledge知觉zhījué · perception无知wúzhī · ignorant须知xūzhī · notice众所周知zhòngsuǒzhōuzhī · as everyone knows

Words with 足

足球zúqiú · football踢足球tīzúqiú · to play football (football)满足mǎnzú · to satisfy不足bùzú · insufficient立足lìzú · to gain a foothold充足chōngzú · sufficient十足shízú · complete足以zúyǐ · enough to举足轻重jǔzúqīngzhòng · to play a decisive role微不足道wēibùzúdào · insignificant

Words with 常

非常fēicháng · extremely常cháng · often经常jīngcháng · often常见chángjiàn · common常用chángyòng · commonly used常常chángcháng · often正常zhèngcháng · regular平常píngcháng · ordinary常识chángshí · common sense日常rìcháng · day-to-day

Words with 乐

快乐kuàilè · happy音乐yīnyuè · music娱乐yúlè · to entertain乐观lèguān · optimistic乐器yuèqì · musical instrument俱乐部jùlèbù · club (the organisation or its premises) (loanword)欢乐huānlè · joy乐趣lèqù · delight乐意lèyì · willing乐谱yuèpǔ · sheet music

More words: Emotions & Attitudes

爱心àixīn · compassion安慰ānwèi · to comfort震撼zhènhàn · to shock震惊zhènjīng · shocked志气zhìqì · aspiration指望zhǐwàng · to count on自卑zìbēi · to feel inferior自满zìmǎn · complacent

FAQs

知足常乐 (zhīzúchánglè) means “contentment brings happiness” or “satisfied with what one has (idiom)”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it zhīzúchánglè: zhī with a 1st tone, then zú with a 2nd tone, then cháng with a 2nd tone, then lè with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 知足常乐 is written 知足常樂. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhizuchangle with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 知足常乐 from the suggestions. Typing zhizuchangle into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
知足常乐 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.