Meaning
To feel one's heart beat with excitement or anticipation.
Practice Bank
3 exercisesConcert tickets are finally on sale. I'm so excited, my ____ is pounding!
The day before the trip, my chest was filled with ____.
Every time I think about seeing my favorite band live, my ____ starts to race.
🎉 Score: /3
This expression literally means 'to make one's chest/heart dance'. The word '胸 (mune)' refers to the chest or heart, often metaphorically representing one's feelings or emotions. '躍らせる (odoraseru)' is the causative form of '躍る (odoru)', meaning 'to dance' or 'to leap'. When combined, '胸を躍らせる' vividly describes the physical sensation of one's heart fluttering or 'dancing' due to strong emotions like excitement, anticipation, joy, or thrill. This phrase has been used in Japanese literature and daily conversation for centuries to express such heightened emotional states. Its roots can be traced back to classical Japanese, where similar expressions using '胸' and verbs of movement were employed to convey strong feelings. The image of the heart 'dancing' is a universal metaphor for excitement, making this expression easily understood and widely used.
