Standard Lemma guide

happiness

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈhæpinɪs/
  • /ˈhæpinəs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH AE1 P IY0 N AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The emotion of being happy; joy; elation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • seek happiness
  • true happiness
  • bring happiness to others
  • Money can’t buy happiness.
  • She found happiness in the small things.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: felicity, high spirits

Antonyms: haplessness, unhappiness, blueness, tristesse, mirthless, blues, crestfallenness, dejection, depression, despondency, distress, dolefulness, downheartedness, drearihead, forlornness, grief, heartsore, ill-being, infelicity, melancholia, melancholy, misery, mishappiness, mourn, prosternation, regret, rue, ruth, sadness, sorrow, sorrowfulness, tristfulness, undelight, woe, woefare, wretchedness

2

noun

Meaning 2

Prosperity, thriving, wellbeing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: suffering

3

noun

Meaning 3

Good luck; good fortune.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: felicity, fortuity, fortune, fortuitousness, good cess, good fortune, good luck, happiness, luck

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace, used especially of language.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

emotions experienced when in a state of well-being

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: sadness

Broader terms: feeling

Narrower terms: bonheur, gladness, gladfulness, gladsomeness, gaiety, merriment, rejoicing, belonging, cheerfulness, blitheness, contentment

6

noun

Meaning 6

state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: felicity

Antonyms: unhappiness

Broader terms: emotional state, spirit

Narrower terms: blessedness, beatitude, beatification, radiance

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kob-der. Proto-Germanic *hampą Old Norse happbor. Middle English hap Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y Middle English happy English happy Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh2yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h2ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English happiness From happy + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

272 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: geluk — emotion of being happy
  • Albanian: lumturi — emotion of being happy
  • Albanian: hare — emotion of being happy
  • Arabic: سَعَادَة (saʕāda) — emotion of being happy
  • Arabic: فَرَح (faraḥ) — emotion of being happy
  • Armenian: երջանկություն (erǰankutʻyun) — emotion of being happy
  • Asturian: felicidá — emotion of being happy
  • Avar: талихӏ (taliḥr) — emotion of being happy
  • Azerbaijani: xoşbəxtlik — emotion of being happy
  • Azerbaijani: səadət — emotion of being happy
  • Bashkir: бәхет (bəxet) — emotion of being happy
  • Belarusian: шча́сце (ščáscje) — emotion of being happy
  • Belarusian: шча́сьце (ščásʹcje) — emotion of being happy
  • Bengali: সুখ (śukh) — emotion of being happy
  • Bulgarian: ща́стие (štástie) — emotion of being happy
  • Burmese: သုခ (su.hka.) — emotion of being happy
  • Catalan: felicitat — emotion of being happy
  • Cebuano: kalipay — emotion of being happy
  • Chinese Cantonese: 幸福 — emotion of being happy
  • Chinese Cantonese: 快樂 /快乐 (faai3 lok6) — emotion of being happy
  • Chinese Cantonese: 愉快 (jyu4 faai3 / jyu6 faai3) — emotion of being happy
  • Literary Chinese: 福 (fú) — emotion of being happy
  • Literary Chinese: 礽 (réng) — emotion of being happy
  • Literary Chinese: 祉 (zhǐ) — emotion of being happy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 幸福 (xìngfú) — emotion of being happy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 快樂 /快乐 (kuàilè) — emotion of being happy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 愉快 (yúkuài) — emotion of being happy
  • Czech: štěstí — emotion of being happy
  • Danish: lykke — emotion of being happy
  • Danish: glæde — emotion of being happy
  • Danish: gammen — emotion of being happy
  • Dutch: blijheid — emotion of being happy
  • Dutch: blijdschap — emotion of being happy
  • Dutch: geluk — emotion of being happy
  • Dutch: vreugde — emotion of being happy
  • Egyptian: Aw:*t-ib (ꜣwt-jb) — emotion of being happy
  • Esperanto: feliĉo — emotion of being happy
  • Esperanto: feliĉeco — emotion of being happy
  • Estonian: õnn — emotion of being happy
  • Farefare: pupeelum — emotion of being happy
  • Faroese: gleði — emotion of being happy
  • Finnish: onnellisuus — emotion of being happy
  • Finnish: onni — emotion of being happy
  • Finnish: ilo — emotion of being happy
  • Finnish: riemu — emotion of being happy
  • French: bonheur — emotion of being happy
  • Galician: felicidade — emotion of being happy
  • Georgian: ბედნიერება (bedniereba) — emotion of being happy
  • German: Glück — emotion of being happy
  • German: Glücklichkeit — emotion of being happy
  • Greek: ευτυχία (eftychía) — emotion of being happy
  • Ancient Greek: εὐδαιμονία (eudaimonía) — emotion of being happy
  • Hawaiian: hauʻoli — emotion of being happy
  • Hebrew: אושר \ אֹשֶׁר ('ósher) — emotion of being happy
  • Hindi: Hindi: हर्ष (harṣ) — emotion of being happy
  • Hindi: आनंद (ānand) — emotion of being happy
  • Hindi: सुख (sukh) — emotion of being happy
  • Hindi: प्रसन्नता (prasannatā) — emotion of being happy
  • Hindi: आह्लाद (āhlād) — emotion of being happy
  • Hindi: ख़ुशी (xuśī) — emotion of being happy
  • Hungarian: boldogság — emotion of being happy
  • Hunsrik: Glick — emotion of being happy
  • Icelandic: gleði — emotion of being happy
  • Icelandic: hamingja — emotion of being happy
  • Ido: feliceso — emotion of being happy
  • Indonesian: kebahagiaan — emotion of being happy
  • Ingrian: onni — emotion of being happy
  • Ingrian: ilo — emotion of being happy
  • Ingush: ираз (iraz) — emotion of being happy
  • Irish: sonas — emotion of being happy
  • Irish: suáilceas — emotion of being happy
  • Italian: felicità — emotion of being happy
  • Italian: gioia — emotion of being happy
  • Japanese: 幸福 (kōfuku) — emotion of being happy
  • Japanese: 幸せ (shiawase) — emotion of being happy
  • Japanese: 愉快 (yukai) — emotion of being happy
  • Kabuverdianu: filisidadi — emotion of being happy
  • Kashubian: szczescé — emotion of being happy
  • Kazakh: бақыт (baqyt) — emotion of being happy
  • Khmer: សុភមង្គល (sophĕəʼmŭəngkŭəl) — emotion of being happy
  • Khmer: កាមសុខ (kaamĕəʼsok) — emotion of being happy
  • Khmer: បរមសុខ (paʼraʼmaʼsok) — emotion of being happy
  • Khmer: បាមោជ្ជ (paamaoccĕəʼ) — emotion of being happy
  • Khmer: បីតិ (pəyteʼ) — emotion of being happy
  • Khmer: ប្រមោទ (prɑɑmaot) — emotion of being happy
  • Khmer: ប្រីតា (prəytaa) — emotion of being happy
  • Korean: 행복 (haengbok) — emotion of being happy
  • Korean: 기쁨 (gippeum) — emotion of being happy
  • Korean: 즐거움 (jeulgeoum) — emotion of being happy
  • Korean: 희열 (huiyeol) — emotion of being happy
  • Korean: 열락 (yeollak) — emotion of being happy
  • Northern Kurdish: bextewerî — emotion of being happy
  • Northern Kurdish: seadet — emotion of being happy
  • Kyrgyz: бакыт (bakıt) — emotion of being happy
  • Lao: ຄວາມສຸກ (khuām suk) — emotion of being happy
  • Latgalian: laime — emotion of being happy
  • Latin: laetitia — emotion of being happy
  • Latin: gaudium — emotion of being happy
  • Latin: felicitas — emotion of being happy
  • Latvian: laime — emotion of being happy
  • Lithuanian: laimė — emotion of being happy
  • Luxembourgish: Gléck — emotion of being happy
  • Macedonian: среќа (sreḱa) — emotion of being happy
  • Macedonian: радост (radost) — emotion of being happy
  • Malay: kebahagiaan — emotion of being happy
  • Malay: kegembiraan — emotion of being happy
  • Malayalam: സന്തോഷം (santōṣaṁ) — emotion of being happy
  • Malayalam: ആഹ്ലാദം (āhlādaṁ) — emotion of being happy
  • Malayalam: ആനന്ദം (ānandaṁ) — emotion of being happy
  • Maltese: feliċita — emotion of being happy
  • Māori: uruhautanga — emotion of being happy
  • Māori: hurō — emotion of being happy
  • Mauritian Creole: jos — emotion of being happy
  • Mauritian Creole: lazwa — emotion of being happy
  • Middle English: wynne — emotion of being happy
  • Mongolian: аз жаргал (az žargal) — emotion of being happy
  • Navajo: ił hózhǫ́ — emotion of being happy
  • Norwegian Bokmål: lykke — emotion of being happy
  • Norwegian Bokmål: glede — emotion of being happy
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: lukke — emotion of being happy
  • Occitan: felicitat — emotion of being happy
  • Occitan: bonaür — emotion of being happy
  • Old East Slavic: съчастиѥ (sŭčastije) — emotion of being happy
  • Old English: bliss — emotion of being happy
  • Old English: ġefēa — emotion of being happy
  • Old Norse: gleði — emotion of being happy
  • Pannonian Rusyn: щесце (ščesce) — emotion of being happy
  • Pashto: خوشبختي (xošbaxtí) — emotion of being happy
  • Pashto: سعادت (sa'ādát) — emotion of being happy
  • Iranian Persian: خوشْبَخْتی (xošbaxti) — emotion of being happy
  • Iranian Persian: شادی (šâdi) — emotion of being happy
  • Iranian Persian: سَعادَت (sa'âdat) — emotion of being happy
  • Plautdietsch: Freid — emotion of being happy
  • Plautdietsch: Häaj — emotion of being happy
  • Polish: szczęście — emotion of being happy
  • Polish: radość — emotion of being happy
  • Portuguese: felicidade — emotion of being happy
  • Portuguese: alegria — emotion of being happy
  • Quechua: kusi — emotion of being happy
  • Romani: baxt — emotion of being happy
  • Romanian: bucurie — emotion of being happy
  • Romanian: fericire — emotion of being happy
  • Russian: сча́стье (sčástʹje) — emotion of being happy
  • Russian: ра́дость (rádostʹ) — emotion of being happy
  • Northern Sami: illu — emotion of being happy
  • Sanskrit: सुख (sukhá) — emotion of being happy
  • Scottish Gaelic: àigh — emotion of being happy
  • Serbo-Croatian: сре̏ћа — emotion of being happy
  • Serbo-Croatian: srȅća — emotion of being happy
  • Shor: ырыс (ırıs) — emotion of being happy
  • Silesian: szczyńście — emotion of being happy
  • Sinhalese: සන්තෝෂය (santōṣaya) — emotion of being happy
  • Slovak: šťastie — emotion of being happy
  • Slovak: radosť — emotion of being happy
  • Slovene: sreča — emotion of being happy
  • Spanish: felicidad — emotion of being happy
  • Swahili: raha — emotion of being happy
  • Swedish: lycka — emotion of being happy
  • Swedish: glädje — emotion of being happy
  • Swedish: fröjd — emotion of being happy
  • Tabasaran: бахт (baꭓt) — emotion of being happy
  • Tagalog: kaligayahan — emotion of being happy
  • Tagalog: ligaya — emotion of being happy
  • Tajik: бахт (baxt) — emotion of being happy
  • Tajik: саодат (saodat) — emotion of being happy
  • Tajik: шодӣ (šodi) — emotion of being happy
  • Tajik: хушбахтӣ (xušbaxti) — emotion of being happy
  • Tamil: மகிழ்ச்சி (makiḻcci) — emotion of being happy
  • Tamil: சந்தோஷம் (cantōṣam) — emotion of being happy
  • Tatar: бәхет (bäxet) — emotion of being happy
  • Tatar: сәгадәть (säğädätʹ) — emotion of being happy
  • Tatar: сәгадәт (säğädät) — emotion of being happy
  • Telugu: సంతోషం (santōṣaṁ) — emotion of being happy
  • Thai: ความสุข (kwaam-sùk) — emotion of being happy
  • Tibetan: བདེ་བ (bde ba) — emotion of being happy
  • Turkish: mutluluk — emotion of being happy
  • Turkish: saadet — emotion of being happy
  • Turkish: bahtiyarlık — emotion of being happy
  • Turkmen: bagt — emotion of being happy
  • Turkmen: şatlyk — emotion of being happy
  • Turkmen: eýgilik — emotion of being happy
  • Tuvan: аас-кежик (aas-kejik) — emotion of being happy
  • Ukrainian: ща́стя (ščástja) — emotion of being happy
  • Ukrainian: ра́дість (rádistʹ) — emotion of being happy
  • Urdu: خُوشی (xūśī) — emotion of being happy
  • Urdu: سَعادَت (sa'ādat) — emotion of being happy
  • Uyghur: بەخت (bext) — emotion of being happy
  • Uyghur: خۇشاللىق (xushalliq) — emotion of being happy
  • Uyghur: سائادەت (sa'adet) — emotion of being happy
  • Uyghur: بەختلىك (bextlik) — emotion of being happy
  • Uyghur: دىلشاتلىق (dilshatliq) — emotion of being happy
  • Uyghur: ھالاۋەت (halawet) — emotion of being happy
  • Uzbek: baxt — emotion of being happy
  • Uzbek: chogʻlik — emotion of being happy
  • Uzbek: xushbaxtlik — emotion of being happy
  • Uzbek: saodat — emotion of being happy
  • Venetan: ałegrézsa — emotion of being happy
  • Venetan: ałegrìa — emotion of being happy
  • Vietnamese: hạnh phúc — emotion of being happy
  • Walloon: bouneur — emotion of being happy
  • Welsh: hapusrwydd — emotion of being happy
  • Yiddish: גליק (glik) — emotion of being happy
  • Bulgarian: късме́т (kǎsmét) — good luck
  • Czech: štěstí — good luck
  • Dutch: geluk — good luck
  • Dutch: fortuin — good luck
  • Finnish: onni — good luck
  • Finnish: onnekkuus — good luck
  • German: Glück — good luck
  • Greek: ευημερία (evimería) — good luck
  • Greek: προκοπή (prokopí) — good luck
  • Greek: ευπραγία (efpragía) — good luck
  • Hungarian: szerencse — good luck
  • Icelandic: lukka — good luck
  • Ingrian: onni — good luck
  • Ingrian: lykky — good luck
  • Italian: gioia — good luck
  • Italian: felicità — good luck
  • Japanese: 幸運 (kōun) — good luck
  • Korean: 행운 (haeng'un) — good luck
  • Latin: fēlīcitās — good luck
  • Latvian: laime — good luck
  • Lithuanian: laimė — good luck
  • Macedonian: среќа (sreḱa) — good luck
  • Macedonian: коб (kob) — good luck
  • Malayalam: സുഖം (sukhaṁ) — good luck
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hell — good luck
  • Polish: szczęście — good luck
  • Portuguese: fortuna — good luck
  • Russian: сча́стье (sčástʹje) — good luck
  • Russian: уда́ча (udáča) — good luck
  • Russian: везе́ние (vezénije) — good luck
  • Russian: фортуна (fortuna) — good luck
  • Scottish Gaelic: àigh — good luck
  • Slovak: šťastie — good luck
  • Ukrainian: ща́стя (ščástja) — good luck
  • Ukrainian: уда́ча (udáča) — good luck
  • Ukrainian: везі́ння (vezínnja) — good luck
  • Vietnamese: may mắn — good luck
  • Vietnamese: phúc — good luck
  • Dutch: blijheid — agreeable feeling
  • Dutch: blijdschap — agreeable feeling
  • Dutch: geluk — agreeable feeling
  • Finnish: onnellisuus — agreeable feeling
  • German: Fröhlichkeit — agreeable feeling
  • Greek: ευτυχία (eftychía) — agreeable feeling
  • Greek: χαρά (chará) — agreeable feeling
  • Italian: felicità — agreeable feeling
  • Italian: allegria — agreeable feeling
  • Korean: 즐거움 (jeulgeoum) — agreeable feeling
  • Korean: 기쁨 (gippeum) — agreeable feeling
  • Korean: 만족(滿足))) (manjok) — agreeable feeling
  • Korean: 충족 (chungjok) — agreeable feeling
  • Korean: 열락 (yeollak) — agreeable feeling
  • Latvian: laime — agreeable feeling
  • Macedonian: среќа (sreḱa) — agreeable feeling
  • Macedonian: радост (radost) — agreeable feeling
  • Malayalam: സുഖം (sukhaṁ) — agreeable feeling
  • Malayalam: ആനന്ദം (ānandaṁ) — agreeable feeling
  • Māori: hurō — agreeable feeling
  • Polish: szczęście — agreeable feeling
  • Portuguese: felicidade — agreeable feeling
  • Portuguese: alegria — agreeable feeling
  • Russian: сча́стье (sčástʹje) — agreeable feeling
  • Russian: ра́дость (rádostʹ) — agreeable feeling
  • Scottish Gaelic: àigh — agreeable feeling
  • Telugu: సంతోషం (santōṣaṁ) — agreeable feeling
  • Ukrainian: ща́стя (ščástja) — agreeable feeling
  • Ukrainian: ра́дість (rádistʹ) — agreeable feeling
  • Macedonian: среќа (sreḱa) — fortuitous elegance
  • Russian: сча́стье (sčástʹje) — fortuitous elegance
  • Russian: уда́ча (udáča) — fortuitous elegance
Real reading context

happiness in complete knowledge articles