笑 xiào — laugh; smile
听了这个笑话，大家都笑了。Tīng le zhè ge xiào hua, dà jiā dōu xiào le.Hearing this joke, everyone laughed.
Common words: 开玩笑 (kāi wán xiào)、笑话 (xiào hua)、笑话儿 (xiào hua r)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "laugh"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "laugh", including 笑 (xiào), 乐 (lè / yuè), 嘻 (xī). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "laugh" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 笑 (xiào), 乐 (lè / yuè), 嘻 (xī) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span xiào, lè, yuè, xī — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 笑 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 笑 xiàolaugh; smileUseful words: 开玩笑, 笑话
- 乐 lè / yuè(surname); happy; laugh; cheerful; (surname); musicUseful words: 快乐, 音乐
- 嘻 xīlaugh; giggleUseful words: 嘻哈, 嘻皮
Common words for these 3 "laugh" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 笑 (xiào) — so "laugh" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "laugh".
乐 lè / yuè — (surname); happy; laugh; cheerful; (surname); music
节日里，孩子们玩得很快乐。Jié rì lǐ, hái zi men wán de hěn kuài lè.During the festival, the children played happily.
Common words: 快乐 (kuài lè)、音乐 (yīn yuè)、音乐会 (yīn yuè huì)
嘻 xī — laugh; giggle
孩子们嘻嘻哈哈地玩着游戏。Hái zi men xī xī hā hā de wán zhe yóu xì.The children play games, giggling and laughing.
Common words: 嘻哈 (xī hā)、嘻皮 (xī pí)、嘻嘻 (xī xī)
All 3 characters
Open 笑、乐、嘻 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.