Comparing "gaoxing" and "kaixin"

Both 高兴 (gāoxìng) and 开心 (kāixīn) can translated to mean "happy." Both can be used in formal and informal settings and are often paired with intensifiers like 很 (hěn), 太 (tài), 非常 (fēicháng). A key difference is 高兴 is both an adjective and a verb (meaning "to be happy"), whereas 开心 is only an adjective. A final difference is 高兴 is used in fixed patterns like when you meet someone for the first to and say “pleased to meet you.”

A2HSK4ASV4567

	高兴 (gāoxìng)	开心 (kāixīn)
Meaning	happy	happy
Part of Speech	adjective	adjective
Formality	flexible	flexible

:Yes

In common patterns "happy" 高兴 and 开心 are interchangeable

The following examples work with both 高兴 and 开心.

Common Phrases

• 很～ Hěn ～very ~
• 太～了 Tài ～ leso ~
• 非常～ Fēicháng ～very ~

Example Sentences

For each the following sentences, 高兴 and 开心 are correct:

• 今天 我 很 开心。 Jīntiān wǒ hěn kāixīn .I'm happy today.
• 你 为什么 不 开心？ Nǐ wèishénme bù kāixīn ?Why are you not happy?
• 她 很 开心 地 吃 完 了 晚饭。 Tā hěn kāixīn de chī wán le wǎnfàn.She happily finished her dinner.
• 今天 我们 在 公园 玩 得 很 开心。 Jīntiān wǒmen zài gōngyuán wán de hěn kāixīn.We had a lot of fun at the park today.
• 你 能 来，我 太 开心 了。 Nǐ néng lái, wǒ tài kāixīn le.I am so happy that you could come.
• 今天 老师 很 高兴。 Jīntiān lǎoshī hěn gāoxìng .Today the teacher is happy.
• 我 很 高兴 我的 中文 变 好 了。 Wǒ hěn gāoxìng wǒ de Zhōngwén biàn hǎo le.I'm glad my Chinese has gotten better.
• 听到 这个 笑话，我 有点 不 高兴 了。 Tīngdào zhège xiàohuà, wǒ yǒudiǎn bù gāoxìng le.I'm a little unhappy to hear that joke.
• 我 有 一 件 高兴 的 事情 告诉 你。 Wǒ yǒu yī jiàn gāoxìng de shìqing gàosu nǐ.I have something happy to tell you about.
• 我 很 高兴 我们 又 见面 了。 Wǒ hěn gāoxìng wǒmen yòu jiànmiàn le.I'm glad we met again.

To say “pleased to meet you” use 高兴

This sentence is not a traditional Chinese saying; it's more of a translation from English (or perhaps other European languages). In this case it's not that 开心 (kāixīn) is necessarily wrong; it's just that there's already a set phrase that everyone knows, using 高兴 (gāoxìng).

• 认识 你 很 高兴。 Rènshi nǐ hěn gāoxìng.Pleased to meet you.
• 很 高兴 认识 你。 Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.Pleased to meet you.

We're using "pleased to meet you" instead of "nice to meet you" because "pleased" is closer to "happy," but you can translate that as "nice" in your head if you like.

Sources and further reading

Websites

• "高兴" 和 "开心" 和有什么不一样? (HiNative)
• Gaoxing (高兴) vs. Kaixin (开心) (Chinese StackExchange) --这个不是很有帮助，以后可以去掉
• What is the difference between 高兴 and 开心? (Quora) --这个不是很有帮助，以后可以去掉