Chinese word

得意忘形

Pronunciation

Pinyindé yì wàng xíng

Meaning

  • idiomget carried away

Example

听到成绩公布，她得意忘形地笑了。tīng dào chéng jì gōng bù tā dé yì wàng xíng dì xiào le

When she heard the results were announced, she got carried away and laughed.

Illustration for 得意忘形 (get carried away)

More examples

同学夸他，他就得意忘形了。tóng xué kuā tā tā jiù dé yì wàng xíng le

When his classmates praised him, he got carried away.

Core concept

Success lifts a person above a normal sense of proportion, so delight turns into showy self-satisfaction.

Common phrases

  • 被夸奖就得意忘形bèi kuā jiǎng jiù dé yì wàng xíng

    get carried away when praised

  • 考试拿高分后得意忘形kǎo shì ná gāo fēn hòu dé yì wàng xíng

    get carried away after scoring high on an exam

  • 因为一点小成绩就得意忘形yīn wèi yì diǎn xiǎo chéng jì jiù dé yì wàng xíng

    get carried away over even a small achievement

Similar words

自鸣得意zì míng dé yì: Being pleased with personal success in a way that appears openly conceited.
沾沾自喜zhān zhān zì xǐ: Taking pride in one's own merits or results and feeling satisfied.
得意洋洋dé yì yáng yáng: Letting the joy and confidence of success show clearly in one's manner.
趾高气扬zhǐ gāo qì yáng: Acting visibly proud and arrogant because of a sense of superiority.

Definition in Chinese

形容因为高兴或自得而失去礼节或自我控制，举止放肆。xíng róng yīn wèi gāo xìng huò zì dé ér shī qù lǐ jié huò zì wǒ kòng zhì jú zhǐ fàng sì

Word origin

The idiom joins 得意 (déyì, "proudly pleased") with 忘形 (wàngxíng, "forget one's form"), creating the image of joy or pride erasing a person's usual outward composure.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, it often works as a playful comment about a friend's behavior, but it can sound judgmental in a formal description.

Other meanings

  • become conceitedidiom
  • be overjoyedidiom

Opposites

Related words

  • 得意dé yìproudadjective
  • 得意洋洋dé yì yáng yángsmugidiom

Word lists with this word