幸灾乐祸

xìng zāi lè huò

to gloat over others’ misfortune

Character by character

幸xìng
rejoice at

灾zāi
disaster

乐lè
enjoy

祸huò
calamity

别人失败了，你不该幸灾乐祸。

You shouldn't gloat when others fail.

Tone: negative (criticism).

The Chinese 'schadenfreude'; 乐 is lè, and it is always a reproach.

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