乐以忘忧 — “To be so happy that one forgets all worries”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 乐以忘忧?

由于快乐而忘记了忧愁。形容非常快乐。

乐以忘忧 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be so happy that one forgets all worries”. To be joyful and oblivious to troubles. Literally, “Happy so as to forget worries”.

Frequency

乐以忘忧 Pronunciation and Pinyin

乐以忘忧 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
乐	lè	5	happy, music, enjoy
以	yǐ	5	by means of
忘	wàng	7	to forget
忧	yōu	7	to worry or be anxious

Example Sentence with 乐以忘忧

他沉浸在自己热爱的创作中，常常乐以忘忧，感觉不到时间的流逝。

He was engrossed in his beloved creative work, often so happy that he forgot all his worries, oblivious to the passage of time.

Origin and Story of 乐以忘忧

During the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius traveled with his students across various states to give lectures. When they arrived at Ye County in the State of Chu, Duke Ye (Shen Zhuliang) received him.

Duke Ye didn't know much about Confucius, so he quietly asked Zilu, one of Confucius's disciples. Zilu was at a loss for how to answer at the moment.

When Confucius later learned of this, he told Zilu that in the future, he should say: "He is a person who, in his eagerness to learn, forgets to eat; in his joy, forgets his worries; and does not perceive the approach of old age."