noun · 2 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
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General-American:/ˌʒwɑ də ˈviv(ɹə)/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌʒwɑː də ˈviːvɹə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːvɹə
1
noun
Meaning 1
Enjoyment of living; happiness, ebullience, zest for life.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a keen enjoyment of living
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: enjoyment
History
Etymology
Borrowed from French joie de vivre (literally “joy of living”).
Across languages
Translations
42 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Basque:
bizipoz
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Chinese Mandarin:
生活情趣
(shēnghuó qíngqù)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Chinese Mandarin:
生活樂趣 /生活乐趣
(shēnghuó lèqù)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Danish:
livsglæde
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Danish:
livslyst
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Dutch:
levensvreugde
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Dutch:
levenslust
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Dutch:
joie de vivre
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Esperanto:
vivĝojo
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Faroese:
lívsgleði
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Finnish:
elämänilo
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Finnish:
elämänhalu
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
French:
joie de vivre
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Galician:
delicia de vivir
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
German:
Lebensfreude
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
German:
Lebenslust
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Hindi:
जीने की ख़ुशी
(jīne kī xuśī)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Hungarian:
életöröm
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Icelandic:
lífsgleði
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Italian:
gioia di vivere
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Japanese:
生きる歓び
(ikiru yorokobi)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Kannada:
ಬಾಳಸವಿ
(bāḷasavi)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Kannada:
ಜೀವನ ಮಾಧುರ್ಯ
(jīvana mādhurya)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Kannada:
ಜೀವನದ ಸುಖೋತ್ಕರ್ಷ
(jīvanada sukhōtkarṣa)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Latvian:
dzīvesprieks
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Latvian:
dzīves prieks
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Limburgish:
laeveslös
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Luxembourgish:
liewensfreed
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Norwegian Bokmål:
livsglede
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Norwegian Bokmål:
livslyst
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Norwegian Nynorsk:
livsglede
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Norwegian Nynorsk:
livslyst
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Polish:
radość życia
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Portuguese:
alegria de viver
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Romanian:
bucurie de a trăi
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Russian:
жизнера́достность
(žiznerádostnostʹ)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Spanish:
alegría de vivir
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Swedish:
livsglädje
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Swedish:
livslust
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Ukrainian:
життєра́дісність
(žyttjerádisnistʹ)
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Uzbek:
xushchaqchaqlik
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
Vietnamese:
niềm vui sống
— enjoyment of living, zest for life
