Writing
笑 (xiào) — how to say "to laugh" in Chinese
笑
To laugh, to smile; smile
verb
Radicals / Keys
竹
Bamboo
#118 · zhú · 6 strokes
Collocations
笑一笑
xiào yī xiào
smile a little
大笑
dàxiào
laugh loudly
Examples
听到这个事情，大家都笑了。
Hearing this news, everyone laughed.
他笑了
He laughed.
Mnemonic
[xiào-] Sherlock "Xiào-lock" Holmes discovers a secret code hidden in a bamboo forest [⺮], and every step he takes reveals more smiles ☺️. With a grin spreading across his face, 笑 appears like magic as he uncovers the joyful mystery.
Frequently asked questions
How to say laugh in Chinese?
"to laugh" in Chinese is 笑 (xiào).
笑 meaning in English
笑 (xiào) means "To laugh, to smile; smile".
How is 笑 pronounced?
It is pronounced xiào (written as xiao). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
Chinese character for laugh
It is written 笑 and has 10 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 笑?
笑 belongs to the HSK 2 vocabulary list.
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Grammar with 笑
而已 — that's all
Clause + 而已 (éryǐ)
一会儿 — alternating actions and states
Subject + 一会儿 (yíhuìr) + Verb/Adj., 一会儿 (yíhuìr) + Verb/Adj.
有 — paired qualities or actions
有 (yǒu) + A + 有 (yǒu) + B
不但不 — not only not, but the opposite
Subject + 不但不 (búdàn bù) + Verb + 反而 (fǎn'ér) + Verb / Subject + 不但没有 (búdàn méiyǒu) + Verb + 反而 (fǎn'ér) + Verb
不禁 — can't help doing
Subject + 不禁 (bùjīn)/赶忙 (gǎnmáng)/特地 (tèdì)/特意 (tèyì)/偷偷 (tōutōu) + Verb
不A而B — result without the usual action
不 (bù) + A + 而 (ér) + B