jolly

Compared meaning: happy, cheerful (adjective).

比较义项：快乐的、高兴的（形容词）。

• merry

  An old-fashioned, festive-sounding word for cheerful; most common in fixed phrases like 'Merry Christmas', describing a light, playful happiness tied to holiday singing and celebration.

  一个略带老式、节日色彩的“快乐”说法，最常见于“Merry Christmas”这类固定说法中，形容一种轻松、欢快的快乐，尤其和节日唱歌、庆祝有关。

  We wished each other a merry Christmas and sang songs by the fire.

  我们互相道了圣诞快乐，并在炉火旁唱起了歌。

• festive

  Describes an atmosphere, place, or occasion that feels ready for celebration (decorations, lights, holiday spirit) rather than a person's inner feeling; rarely used for how someone personally feels.

  形容气氛、地点或场合适合庆祝（如灯饰、彩带、节日气氛），而不是形容一个人内心的感受；很少用来说某人“自己感觉”怎样。

  The office looked wonderfully festive with lights, tinsel, and a decorated tree.

  办公室里挂满了灯饰、彩带和一棵装饰过的圣诞树，显得非常喜庆。

• ecstatic

  Much stronger than the others: extreme, intense happiness and excitement, usually a sudden reaction to specific good news or an event, not a general mood or personality trait.

  程度比其他几个词强得多：表示极度、强烈的快乐和兴奋，通常是对某个具体好消息或事件的突然反应，而不是一种一般性的情绪或性格。

  He was ecstatic when he opened the acceptance letter from his dream university.

  他拆开梦想大学的录取信时，狂喜不已。

• jolly 本词

  Describes a person's cheerful, good-humored personality or manner, often plump or grandfatherly in tone (like Santa); sounds informal and somewhat old-fashioned, more about character than a momentary feeling.

  形容一个人开朗、幽默的性格或举止，语气上常带点“胖乎乎、慈祥”的感觉（像圣诞老人），听起来比较口语化、略显老式，更多指性格而非一时的感受。

  The jolly shopkeeper always cracked jokes and welcomed customers with a big grin.

  那位乐呵呵的店主总是讲笑话，并笑容满面地招待顾客。

All four words mean happy or cheerful, but context and degree differ. Merry is common in holiday greetings, like 'Merry Christmas'. Festive describes a holiday atmosphere or place, not a person's feeling. Ecstatic means extremely, intensely happy. Jolly usually describes a person's cheerful, joking personality.

这四个词都表示“快乐、高兴”，但适用的语境和程度并不相同：merry常用于圣诞节等节日祝福语，festive形容的是节日气氛而不是个人的感受，ecstatic表示强烈、极度的狂喜，jolly则常用来形容一个人开朗、爱说笑的性格。