乐极生悲 lè jí shēng bēi

great joy brings sorrow; joy turns to grief

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 52389th word

Definitions

  1. 1. extreme joy turns to sorrow (idiom); Don't celebrate too soon, things could still go wrong!

Characters

Character Meaning
乐 lè HSK 2
happy; cheerful; to laugh
极 jí HSK 3
extremely; utmost; top
生 shēng HSK 1
life; to be born; raw
悲 bēi HSK 5
sad; sorrow; grief