笑 (xiào): to laugh, to smile, to laugh at
笑 (xiào) is a Chinese character meaning “to laugh.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺮ (structural) and 夭 (structural). It ranks #346 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 笑 a person 夭 with a big grin ⺮. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth")), 等 (děng, to wait for), 答 (dā, bound form having the same meaning as the free word 答, used in 答應|答应, 答理 etc).
Definitions
- to laugh
- to smile
- to laugh at
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person 夭 with a big grin ⺮
Decomposition: ⿱⺮夭 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 笑 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 笑
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 开玩笑 | kāi wán xiào | to play a joke | 4 |
| 笑话noun/verb | xiào hua | joke | 4 |
| 好笑adjective | hǎo xiào | laughable | 4 |
| 微笑verb/noun | wēi xiào | smile | 5 |
| 嘲笑verb | cháo xiào | to jeer at | 6 |
| 笑容noun | xiào róng | smile | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 玩笑 | wán xiào | to joke |
| 可笑 | kě xiào | funny |
| 取笑 | qǔ xiào | to tease |
| 说笑 | shuō xiào | to chat and laugh |
| 笑声 | xiào shēng | laughter |
| 欢笑 | huān xiào | to laugh happily |
| 笑脸 | xiào liǎn | smiling face |
| 傻笑 | shǎ xiào | to giggle |
| 笑柄 | xiào bǐng | a matter for ridicule |
| 笑料 | xiào liào | comedic material |
| 大笑 | dà xiào | to laugh heartily |
| 发笑 | fā xiào | to burst out laughing |
| 冷笑 | lěng xiào | to sneer |
| 讥笑 | jī xiào | to sneer |
| 狂笑 | kuáng xiào | to howl with laughter |
笑 appears in 100 compound words: 34 as the first character, 59 as the last, and 7 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 笑 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (21)
lit. to buy smiles to seek happiness; abandon oneself to the pleasures of the flesh (idiom)
to turn from weeping to smiling, usually depicting a change in one's emotional state from being sad to being happy
to talk in a jovial mood; to joke together; to talk cheerfully and wittily
to turn from weeping to smiling, usually depicting a change in one's emotional state from being sad to being happy
Showing 12 of 21 idioms containing 笑.
Example Sentences
看完这部电影，我深深地被故事情节打动了。
Kàn wán zhè bù diànyǐng, wǒ shēnshēn de bèi gùshi qíngjié dǎdòng le.
After watching this movie, I was deeply moved by the storyline.
...成春訓首秀灌3打點!皮膚好到球迷羨慕 搞笑曝護膚祕訣
. . . chéng chūn 訓 shǒu xiù guàn dǎ 點 ! pí 膚 hǎo dào qiú mí 羨 mù gǎo xiào pù 護 膚 祕 訣
...Delivers 3 RBIs in Spring Training Debut! Skin So Flawless Fans Are Jealous—Hilariously Reveals Skincare Secrets
...萌娃拜年脫口「祝爺爺奶奶早生貴子」 全網笑翻
. . . méng wá bài nián 脫 kǒu zhù 爺 爺 nǎi nǎi zǎo shēng 貴 zǐ quán 網 xiào fān
Adorable Toddler's New Year Greeting: "Wishing Grandpa and Grandma a Baby Soon!" Internet Hilariously Amused
代銷認「最怕1類人」看房! 網秒懂笑了:會拿捲尺驗屋
dài 銷 認 zuì pà 類 rén kàn fáng ! 網 miǎo dǒng xiào le 會 ná 捲 chǐ 驗 wū
Real estate agents admit they "fear one type of person" most during viewings! Netizens instantly get it and laugh: They'll bring a tape measure to inspect the property.
發福袋一蹲再蹲!蕭美琴笑曝:順便練深蹲
發 fú dài yī cún zài cún ! 蕭 měi qín xiào pù 順 biàn 練 shēn cún
Squatting again and again with the lucky money bags! Hsiao Mei-chin jokes: "Might as well practice my squats."
......梨山工寮遭縱火 民眾拍照赫見「鬼面笑臉」
. . . . . . lí shān gōng 寮 zāo 縱 huǒ mín 眾 pāi zhào hè 見 guǐ miàn xiào 臉
Arson at Lishan Workshop Residents Photograph Mysterious "Ghostly Smiling Face"
大山深处:鞭炮声声 笑声朗朗——火箭军某部春节见闻
dà shān shēn chǔ biān pào shēng shēng xiào shēng lǎng lǎng huǒ jiàn jūn mǒu bù chūn jié jiàn wén
Deep in the mountains: the sound of firecrackers and the sound of laughter -- a department of the Rocket Force in the Spring Festival
笑着起飞的苏翊鸣,落地后哭了
xiào zhe qǐ fēi de sū 翊 míng , luò dì hòu kū le
Su Yiming took off with a smile on his face, but cried when he landed.
你是在跟我开玩笑吧？！
Nǐ shì zài gēn wǒ kāiwánxiào ba?!
Are you freaking kidding me?!
社会保障吗？他们在说什么笑话？
Shèhuìbǎozhàng ma? tāmen zài shuō shénme xiàohuà?
Social security? Who do they think they're kidding.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 笑 (xiào) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 笑 have?
What is the radical of 笑?
What are the components of 笑?
What are common words containing 笑?
What characters sound the same as 笑 (xiào)?
Is 笑 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 笑 with real-time feedback
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