喜び
よろこび
yorokobi
= joy / delight / happiness
Yorokobi is the Japanese word for joy — not the fleeting pleasure of something enjoyable, but the deeper feeling of delight that comes from something meaningful. It is the feeling at a graduation ceremony, when a long effort finally succeeds, or when someone you love achieves something important.
Yorokobi (喜び) is a noun meaning ‘joy,’ ‘delight,’ or ‘happiness.’ The corresponding verb is yorokobu (喜ぶ), meaning ‘to be happy,’ ‘to rejoice,’ or ‘to be pleased.’ Yorokobi tends to describe happiness that arises from a specific cause — an event, a gift, a result — rather than a general emotional state. The phrase 喜びの声 (yorokobi no koe, cries of joy), 喜びを分かち合う (yorokobi wo wakachi au, to share joy), and 喜びに満ちた (yorokobi ni michita, filled with joy) are all common expressions. Yorokobi is more formal than shiawase (幸せ, happiness) and is frequently used in speeches, formal congratulations, and written expressions of celebration.
The verb yorokobu (喜ぶ) is commonly used to express that someone will be pleased by something — 喜ぶと思います (yorokobu to omoimasu, I think they’ll be happy) is a typical phrase when giving a gift or sharing news. In formal contexts, 喜んで (yorokonde, with pleasure / gladly) is a gracious way to accept a request — 喜んでお手伝いします (yorokonde otetsudai shimasu, I’m happy to help). The phrase お喜び申し上げます (oyorokobi moushiagemasu) is a highly formal congratulatory expression used in business letters and ceremonial speeches.
喜び is written with 喜 (ki/yorokobu), which shows 壴 (a decorated drum/joy instrument) over 口 (mouth) — suggesting the sound of celebration and the open mouth of joy. The character appears in 喜劇 (kigeki, comedy — literally ‘joy drama’), 喜寿 (kiju, 77th birthday celebration), and the compound 悲喜 (hiki, joy and sorrow together), which appears in 悲喜交々 (hikikomogomo, a mix of joy and sorrow).
Everyday use
合格の知らせを聞いて、喜びで涙が出た。
Goukaku no shirase wo kiite, yorokobi de namida ga deta.
When I heard the news of passing, tears of joy came to my eyes.
Casual / Social Media
みんな喜んでくれて本当に嬉しい！ありがとう！
Minna yorokonde kurete hontou ni ureshii! Arigatou!
Everyone was so happy about it — I’m really glad! Thank you!
Formal / Cultural context
皆様のご活躍を心よりお喜び申し上げます。
Mina-sama no go-katsuyaku wo kokoro yori oyorokobi moushiagemasu.
We sincerely rejoice in your continued success.
Yorokobi occupies an important place in Japanese ceremonial and gift-giving culture. Many omiyage (お土産, souvenir gifts) and noshi (熨斗, ceremonial wrapping) use the word 喜 to signal celebratory intent — products named 喜 or packaged with the character convey that the gift is meant to bring joy. The character 喜 also appears in traditional Japanese family crests (家紋, kamon) and wedding decorations, where it is often doubled as 囍 (double happiness) borrowed from Chinese tradition, though this specific form is more common in Chinese celebrations.
The expression 喜怒哀楽 (kidoairaku, literally ‘joy-anger-sorrow-pleasure’) is a four-character compound (四字熟語, yojijukugo) representing the full spectrum of human emotions. Used since classical times in Japanese writing and still common today, it names yorokobi (joy) first and at the head of the emotional spectrum. When a Japanese person says someone showed their 喜怒哀楽 openly (喜怒哀楽を素直に表す, kidoairaku wo sunao ni arawasu), they mean the person expressed emotions authentically rather than suppressing them — a quality sometimes described admiringly and sometimes as unusual, depending on context.