Difference in Nuance: 嬉しい vs. 喜ぶ , 幸せ vs. 幸い vs. 幸福


These are all words that have to do with happiness. Aside from their word
classes, what difference do they have in nuance?




One difference is that 嬉しい is more an immediate feeling, a kind of spontaneous
emotion that emerges in certain situations, whereas 幸せ is a deeper kind of
happiness which is based on more stable circumstances. When your girlfriend
gives you a great present, you feel 嬉しい in that moment. When she stays with
you and you develop a deep and fulfilling relationship together, you could
feel 幸せ.

My sense is that 幸福 is similar to 幸せ in terms of its meaning, but it is more
formal as a word (as many 漢語 are), so you would be more likely to encounter it
in written Japanese.

幸い has more of a 'lucky' or 'fortunate' meaning, usually used to refer to a
specific event which was deemed to be somehow fortuitous.

