Chinese “开心果” doesn’t always mean “pistachio nut”

The original meaning of "开心果" (kāi xīn guǒ; literal meaning: Happy fruit) is the Chinese translation of the pistachio nut. It got the Chinese name because of the grinning-like nut shell. In Chinese language, "开心" (kāi xīn) is a synonym of "高兴" (gāo xìng) and "快乐" (kuài lè), and all of them share the same meaning of "happy". People call the funny or humorous persons who always make other people happy "开心果". It's similar to the English slang term "a barrel of laughs". When you have someone that often makes you happy, you can call him "开心果". 

“开心果”的原义是一种坚果的名字。这种坚果之所以称为“开心果”，是因为它裂开的果壳看起来像咧嘴笑的表情。在汉语中“开心”是“高兴、快乐”的意思，所以人们把那些开朗幽默，又能让比别人快乐的人称为“开心果”。类似英文俚语“a barrel of laughs”。如果你身边有一个经常能逗乐你的人，那你就可以称他为“开心果”。

Examples: 

1. Tīng shuō tā cí zhí de shíhou, wǒmen dōu hěn shī wàng, yīn wèi bàn gōng shì cóng cǐ jiù shǎole yí gè kāi xīn guǒ.

听说她辞职的时候，我们都很失望，因为办公室从此就少了一个开心果。

We were very disappointed when we heard that she had resigned, because we lost a person who makes us very happy in the office.

2. Háizi kāi shǐ xué shuō huà le, tā chéng le jiā rén de kāi xīn guǒ.

孩子开始学说话了，他成了家人的开心果。

The baby begins to learn to speak, and his families are very happy with him .

The article is translated and editted by Chinlingo. Please indicate the source for any use, reproduction or transfer. 

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