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Kanji for Joy
The kanji most commonly used for "Joy" are 喜、歓、悦.
喜
Kanji that mean Joy
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喜
joy, happy
Also associated with to celebrate.
Onyomi: ki Kunyomi: yoroko.basu, yoroko.bu 12 strokes Jōyō
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歓
delight, to rejoice
Also associated with to befriend.
Onyomi: kan Kunyomi: yoroko.bu 15 strokes Jōyō
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悦
delight, to rejoice
Also associated with enjoyment.
Onyomi: etsu Kunyomi: yoroko.basu, yoroko.bu 10 strokes Jōyō
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慶
to celebrate, joy, to congratulate
Onyomi: kei Kunyomi: yoroko.bi 15 strokes Jōyō
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楽
music, happy, to play
Onyomi: gaku, goh, raku Kunyomi: kono.mu, tano.shii, tano.shimu 13 strokes Jōyō
喜 is joy in the plain sense: the verb 喜ぶ, to be glad, and the character in 歓喜 (great joy) and 喜劇 (comedy). It is the default choice and is common in given names.
歓 is joy turned outward — 歓声 (a cheer), 歓迎 (a welcome), 歓喜. Other people are present. 悦 is the inward version: private delight, as in 満悦 (great satisfaction) and the idiom 悦に入る, to be quietly pleased with oneself, which carries a hint of self-satisfaction.
慶 is joy as celebration: 慶事 is an auspicious occasion such as a wedding or a birth, 慶祝 is congratulation, and the character is very common in names (Kei, Yoshi). 楽 is nearby but different — enjoyment and ease, 楽しい (fun) and 気楽 (relaxed), as well as music; 樂 is its pre-war form. Two others that dictionaries file near ‘joy’ are not the feeling at all: 賀 is congratulation (年賀状, a New Year card) and 吉 is good fortune (大吉, the best fortune slip).
Before you use Joy kanji
喜 is the safe single character for joy. 悦 can read as smugness because of 悦に入る. 慶 is celebratory rather than emotional, and 楽 will usually be read as 'music' or 'easy' before it is read as pleasure.